A Pennsylvania man has become a millionaire after winning the top prize of the New Jersey Lottery thanks to an old fortune cookie.
Ronnie Martin, from Lond Pond, Pennsylvania, won the large sum of money at US Gas in Hope Township, New Jersey, ABC News reports.
Martin regularly shops at the gas station and buys lottery tickets on his commute to work. The lotto winner purchased three Mega Millions tickets on July 24 and played the numbers 1, 2, 4, 19 and 19 which were in a fortune cookie Martin had opened years ago.
According to the official press release, Martin “liked the numbers and decided to stick with them”. The following day, Martin returned to the gas station to check how he had fared in the jackpot.
The man placed his ticket under the scanner in the shop which directed him to speak to the sales assistant. Gary, the sales assistant, immediately informed Martin that he had won the jackpot, saying: “You’ve got the million-dollar ticket.”
According to reports, Martin and wife Shirley are planning on paying off their mortgage with the money and putting the rest into a savings account.
Martin could have won the entire even more money if he had also matched the sixth Mega Ball number which was 20. The Mega Millions prize is only awarded out to people who manage to march the first five numbers but not the Mega Ball.
Meanwhile, a German cleaner living in Berlin managed to break a Guinness World Record for the largest online betting payout in history, scooping a huge £79 million on Lottoland.
That wasn’t the only extraordinary win that happened last month as one woman won €50,000 on a scratchcard six months after winning the exact same prize! Now that’s what we call lucky.
