How To Cheat The Lottery

Trying to cheat the lottery? Maybe you should try this - Take two losing scratch-off tickets. Rip them in half. Now, rearrange them in such a way that they form a winning ticket. Tape the tickets together. BAM, you won the lottery!

This is genius, isn't it? Actually, no it's not. But you'd be surprised how many people actually try this trick. It's so common, in fact, that New York Lottery has a form letter that explains to people why they can't get their money when they make a claim like this. What idiots - They think it's that easy to win the lottery?

Pictured here is Patricia Manzitto. New York Lottery accused her of doing just that, taping two losing lottery tickets together and claiming a $25,000 prize in October of 2007. Patricia claimed that she bought the winning ticket from a vending machine that spit out the tickets already ripped and that's why she had to tape it together. New York Lottery disagreed and said that the designs on the two halves of the tickets didn't even match. New York Lottery didn't pay the claim.

Patricia Manzitto, however, maintained that it was a legitimate claim. She was so sure that she won the lottery, in fact, that she started spending the money even before she claimed the prize. She spent another $700 on lottery tickets and she put a $3000 down payment on a car. Then New York Lottery denied her claim, so she sued them. It's not known what happened in court, your guess is as good as mine.

Fast forward four years later - October of 2011. Patricia Manzitto is still buying lottery tickets. It turns out that she really wants to win. Her wish actually came true - She and her husband, Salvatore, won $3 million on an instant scratch-off game, again from New York Lottery, called Make Me Rich.

This time around, there was no ripped ticket, no controversy, just a legitimate win. I wonder if the New York Lottery prize claim office was happy to see her there again? Do they even still remember her?

Maybe Patricia really didn't try to cheat the lottery in the first place? Maybe this was just fate making up for a previous wrong? Congratulations to her!

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George Traykov - Bulgarian Man Wins EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle

George Traykov is a Bulgarian man that moved to London, England in 1995. Ever since coming to London, he has had the perfect life - He has a career that he absolutely loves, a beautiful daughter, a great home, and he gets to do his favorite hobby - Skydiving!

He loves skydiving so much, in fact, that he jumped out of an airplane with £1 million in his pocket (That's $1,603,970 USD). No, it wasn't cash - It was a winning lottery ticket.

George Traykov won £1 million in the EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle in October of 2011. The EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle is a really innovative lottery idea. EuroMillions is a lottery like any other. But in the UK, the National Lottery prints an extra set of numbers on each EuroMillions ticket. Then, in addition to the main draw, they randomly pick one winner for the raffle prize of £1 million. It's a guaranteed winner for each draw and it gives people another reason to buy tickets. Pretty cool, eh? It would be nice if Powerball did something similar in The United States.

So George Traykov won his £1 million prize and he thought that the perfect way to celebrate would be to jump out of a plane with it. "It's a tradition at the airfield that anyone who reaches a milestone such as their hundredth jump, must buy everyone a beer," George went on to say. "I figured that jumping with a million pounds must be worth a beer! The jump has been recorded in the log book as a 'great jump with million pound EuroMillions ticket in my pocket.' I"m guessing this is a first for the sky-diving community!"

What, then, does George plan to do with his prize? Umm... His life is perfect - He doesn't need anything, don't you know? Actually, he is planning just one purchase - A new parachute! Nice!

At the time of his win, George Traykov was 43-years-old, an ex-member of the Bulgarian National Skydiving Team, living in London, England, and working as a housekeeping manager at Princess Grace Hospital in London.

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Hilda Floyd Might Die Tomorrow - So She Gave Her Money Away

Did you hear about the guy that won the lottery and died the next day? Ya, he won $100 million. Then he croaked. Too bad. That kind of sucks, doesn't it?

OK, that didn't really happen. But it could. You never know. That's why Linda Floyd has a motto. She never puts any money aside. Why? Because she might die tomorrow. What good is money if you're dead?

Linda Floyd won $1 million on December 29, 2010. True to her motto, the money's all gone now. All of it! She pent a little of it on herself, but gave most of it away.

Linda's story started a few days before she actually won the lottery. That's when a friend of her's gave her a fake lottery ticket... You know, the kind that always wins. She scratched it and thought that she won $25,000. That fake ticket brought a lot of excitement, followed by a lot of disappointment when she found out that it wasn't real. That's a roller coaster of emotions in the span of just a few short minutes.

Then, a few days after the fake lottery ticket prank, another friend called her to check her Idaho Lottery Million Dollar Raffle ticket. She read him her ticket numbers over the phone and the friend immediately started shouting, "You won! You won!". Hilda, not wanting to be fooled again, didn't believe it. She wasn't going to go through another one of those emotional roller coasters.

But Hilda really did win. She finally got around to checking her numbers online and found it that it was true. She won $1 million.

What did Hilda Floyd do with the money? Well, you know the gist of her story. She spent a little on herself. She bought a red pick-up truck, something she's always wanted, and paid off her mortgage. The rest was given away. Immediately after getting her money, she gave 10% of it to her church because the Bible says you should do that. She gave money generously to her family, including her brother, sister, niece, and nephew. She gave to charities. She even treated 135 people, who have family members serving overseas, to dinner.

Hilda Floyd said that she's happier giving money away than keeping it for herself. "You know, it's hard to know what it feels like - It's just a blessing to know that you've made a difference in somebody else's life," she said.

So the money's gone... And Hilda's happy about that. No regrets. After all, she might die tomorrow.

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Skip Yeng Has Lottery Secrets

Skip Yeng has a secret. He won the lottery. Shhh... His wife doesn't know.

You shouldn't keep secrets from your wife, especially lottery secrets. But in this case, it's OK. See, Skip Yeng wanted to take his wife out to dinner and then surprise her with the good news - He won the lottery!

Skip won a $3,829,543 Lotto 649 jackpot two days ago. Today he claimed his prize. He's married, but he came alone. His plan was to get the money and then take his wife out to dinner and surprise her with the good news.

That sounds like a nice plan. After all, everybody likes surprises. However, it's not doable. You can't keep secrets like this very long. This type of news spreads faster than than a virus. The whole town will know within minutes. What does Skip think, the reporters at the press conference will hold off on submitting their reports? Nope!

Here's a case in point - Lily Gallagher is a recent lottery winner who lives in Ireland. When she won, she wanted to tell his son, who was in Australia at the time, about her win. However, her son found out about the win when someone stopped him on the street in Australia, half a world away, and told him that his mother won the lottery. And Skip Yeng thinks he can surprise his wife... Sure, Skip, sure! At least Skips intentions were good.

At the time of his win, Skip Yeng was 54-years-old and lived in Surrey, BC, which is just outside of Vancouver. He worked part-time in real estate and plans to continue doing that.

Now remember, if you know Skip's wife, don't tell her about his lottery secret, OK?

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Todd, You Better Believe You Won The Lottery!

It happens every time - Someone wins the lottery and then they just can't believe it.

This is Todd Smith. He won the lottery. He can't believe it either. Well Todd, you better believe you won the lottery. It's true, you really did.

It was so unbelievable, that his wife, Dawn, began to cry when she heard the news. That led their kids to ask, "Why is mommy crying?" Kids... So innocent. Well kids, those tears coming out of mommy's eyes are happy tears. Sometimes people cry when they're happy.

Todd Smith won $250,000 in Illinois Lottery's Little Lotto game. He was actually the second person this week to claim a Little Lotto Jackpot. The first was Mike Mamer, who claimed a $300,000 prize. Todd Smith bought his winning ticket on October 8 and didn't even realize that it was a winner until late October.

Todd and Dawn Smith say that the lottery win won't change their lives much. But it will provide a financial cushion, their first priority being to set money aside for their kids' college funds and to pay off some bills. They will continue to work at their jobs; Todd is a master sergeant in the Illinois Army National Guard and Dawn is a medical technologist at a hospital.

Of course, winning $250,000 is great, but imagine winning a multi-million dollar jackpot - Now that would be hard to believe! Todd and Dawn can't exactly quit their jobs with a $250,000 prize, but they sure would be able to with a multi-million dollar prize. Now, that would be a life changer. Maybe one day it will happen to them, they just have to BELIEVE!

At the time of his win, Todd Smith was 42-years-old and his wife, Dawn, was 37-years-old. The couple lived in Auburn, Illinois, which is just outside of Springfield.

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Phu Nguyen - Lottery Retailer Gets Commission For Selling Him Winning Ticket

Let's say that one day you walk into your local store, the one where you always buy your lottery tickets from, and you see the store owner standing behind the counter. He has his phone in his hand and, as he ends the call, he starts to celebrate... He shouts out, "Woo-hoo, this store sold a winning lottery ticket!" He was just informed by the lottery office of the good news.

Now, would you think that this store owner is happy for the customer that bought the winning ticket? perhaps. Or is he happy for himself? See, retailers get a commission for selling winning lottery tickets. It could range from a few thousand dollars to more than $100,000. It all depends on the size of the jackpot that was won and the state or country that he's operating in. Whatever it is, they all get commissions for selling winning tickets. So when a customer wins the lottery, they also win the lottery.

Pictured here is Phu Nguyen. He actually experienced the scenario that I painted. He walked into his usual store just as the owner found out that the store sold a winning ticket worth $1,886,091. The store was to receive a $10,000 commission. There were big celebrations going on.

Coincidentally, Phu Nguyen had a lottery ticket in his pocket that was purchased at that store and that he still hadn't checked. It was a Massachusetts Lottery Cash Winfall ticket. So he had it checked. Guess what? It was him... Phu was the winner of $1,886,091!

Phu Nguyen won the jackpot on a game from Massachusetts Lottery called Cash Winfall. He never even heard of the game until a worker at the store suggested that he buy one. It was his first time laying and he won. Beginner's Luck?

At the time of his win, Phu Nguyen lived in Boston Massachusetts. He said that he planned to put the money towards his kids' college education. No word on what the retailer will do with his commission.

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Mike Mamer's No Practical Joker - He Really Did Win The Lottery

Let's say you're the practical joker type - Never serious. Always joking around. Always looking to have fun. Always sarcastic. Now, let's say something unbelievable happens and you want to tell people about it. Now you're in a predicament. Who's gonna believe you? It would be like the boy who cried wolf.

Mike Mamer is pictured here with his wife, Lisa. Mike's the practical joker type and likes to play pranks on Lisa. Now, something unbelievable did happen to Mike - He won the lottery. So when Mike called Lisa to tell her the good news, she assumed it was just another one of his practical jokes. So she HUNG UP ON HIM! Haha, she hung up on her own husband!

But Mike Mamer's no practical joker... I mean, not this time at least. He won $300,000 from Illinois Lottery's Little Lotto game. That's no joke. So he called his wife back. This time, she realized that Mike was telling the truth! Wonderful!

Little Lotto is a 5/39 game. That means that to win the jackpot, you need to match 5-out-of-39 numbers. The jackpots start at $100,000 and they continue to grow if they are not won. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1-in-575,000.

Mike won $300,000 on the October 16, 2011 Little Lotto draw. He likes to play the game and buys tickets occasionally. He actually wasn't planning on buying tickets for that particular draw, but when he stopped at the store to get a drink, he decided at the last minute to buy five tickets. Luckily for him, he was thirsty that day!

At the time of his win, Mike Mamer was 38-years old, worked in the construction industry, and had three kids. He said that he would save and invest the winnings.

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Liliana Brandi - Is Playing The Lottery Gambling?

Liliana Brandi loves playing the lottery, especially the instant scratch-off tickets. She buys them often. But her husband doesn't like it; he doesn't like gambling.

When we think of gambling, we usually picture casinos with card games and slot machines. But Liliana's husband considers the lottery gambling. Is playing the lottery really a form of gambling? Well, the definition of gambling is betting on a game of chance with an uncertain outcome. Yep, sounds like the lottery is gambling to me.

So Liliana Brandi is a gambler. Well, this gambler just won $1 million on an instant scratch-off game from Illinois Lottery. How do you like gambling now, Mr. Brandi? I'm sure you love it!

Liliana Brandi won $1 million on a scratch game called Jackpot Bonus. the game costs $10 to play and she bought the ticket from a lotto ticket vending machine in Dominick's grocery store in Vernon Hills, Illinois. She's pictured above beside the vending machine that she bought the winning ticket from.

When she went back to the grocery store to validate the ticket, it turned out that the staff at the store became way more excited than Liliana did. They even got onto the intercom to announce to all the shopper's that they had a million dollar winner in the store. See, winning the lottery causes a lot of excitement to a lot of people, not just the actual winners!

At the time of her win, Liliana Brandi was 69-years-old, a grandmother, and living in Libertyville, Illinois, which is just north of Chicago. She said that she would use the money to buy a new Cadillac and to go on a trip to Europe, specifically Italy, which is where she was born. She might even take her husband on the trip... You know, the one that doesn't like gamblers!

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666 Not The Number Of The Devil For Frederik And Christina Schultz-Lorentzen

You think that 666 is the number of the devil? Maybe, but not for Frederik And Christina Schultz-Lorentzen. The couple are expecting their 6th child and they just matched 6 numbers in the lottery to win more than $6 million.

Perhaps the devil bestowed this great fortune on the couple? Nooooo. No way, Frederik And Christina Schultz-Lorentzen are lucky. 666 is their lucky number!

Frederik And Christina Schultz-Lorentzen won $6,449,260 from Lotto 649 in October of 2011.

It was Frederik who bought the winning ticket at a gas station near where he works. He buys lottery tickets occasionally, but not often. The winning ticket that he bought was purchased on a whim. Frederik never really expected to win the lottery. In fact, he had his winning ticket in his pocket for a whole week without checking it.

When he finally got around to checking it, Frederik was at the gas station while on a break from work. The clerk scanned the ticket and the winning jingle started to play on the machine. Frederik figured it was probably a $5 win. Nope! It was $6,449,260.

Even after receiving their prize, Frederik And Christina Schultz-Lorentzen say that it still hasn't sunk in that they won the lottery. It's still surreal. That's a common feeling with new lottery winners; it happens all the time.

Frederik said that they won't make any snap decisions about what to do with the money. In fact, he has even continued to work at his job in communications since he won. He only took one day off to go into the lottery office to claim his prize. "It's a lot, but not really a loooot. It's not like $30 million," is how Frederik describes their new riches.

News flash to Frederik: $6,449,260 IS a lot of money... Quit your job. Go out and enjoy life. That's what winning the lottery is all about!

At the time of their win, Frederik And Christina Schultz-Lorentzen lived in Maple Ridge, BC, which is just outside of Vancouver.

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Franco Varone - Woodbridge Paisano Wins lotto Max

There will be a lot of paisanos celebrating in Woodbridge tonight. That's because one of their own won a $50 million Lotto Max Jackpot.

Franco Varone is the big winner of a $50 million Lotto Max prize. He's an Italian man from Woodbridge, Ontario, which is just north of Toronto. Woodbridge has a big Italian community. Someone once asked me for directions to Woodbridge. So I says to the guy, follow that Mustang dude!

Franco is actually one cool Paisano. He was hilarious at the press conference that announced him as the big winner. He started the question and answer segment with "I no speaking da good English." Hilarious!

Franco Varone's story started about four weeks ago. That's when he retired. He worked as a mechanic. He was 73-years-old, so it was about time. Then, two weeks after retiring, he bought a Lotto Max ticket playing the same numbers he had been playing since the game started in Canada in September of 2009. Two weeks after winning the jackpot, he came in to the lottery prize claim office (Today) to claim his prize.

As Franco Varone put it, "I win da lottery. Now I relax."

Relax he will - Franco wants to take his entire family on a holiday. He has for kids and four grandkids, plus his wife, who he had been married to for almost 50 years. Franco also wants to buy each of his kids a house. Franco also plans to share his wealth with his extended family.

Franco Varone was asked if he was worried about blowing the money. He replied, "No no no, you suppose take care of da money. One time come da money, no come anymore."

Congratulations to the paisano on his lucky fortune!

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Ivan Holloway - Show Me The Cash!

Forget "Show me the money!" Ivan Holloway's new catch phrase should be "Show me the cash!" That's because he won $351,000 from Missouri Lottery's Show Me Cash game in October of 2011.

OK, let's hear it now Ivan... Show. Me. The. Cash!

Sheesh, I don't think that Ivan can do it with the same emotion that Tom Cruise can. I mean, just look at his photo - He doesn't look too excited about winning the lottery, does he?

Ivan Holloway actually is excited about winning the lottery. Ivan found out that he won one day when he walked into his usual hang-out spot, The American Legion. Prior to Ivan getting there, his buddies there were talking about somebody buying a winning ticket which was sold at that very Legion. So when Ivan walked in, everybody immediately called for him to check his tickets. Ivan obliged and the bartender scanned the tickets. Sure enough, it was him - Ivan won.

This is how Ivan described it: "I walked in yesterday and it nearly floored me. "I'm not sure I wasn't in shock. I told somebody sitting there, 'Pinch me. Make sure I'm not dreaming this.'"

To celebrate, Ivan Holloway bought everybody a round. That Ivan, such a party animal!

At the time of his win, Ivan Holloway lived in Jackson, Missouri. He said that he would use the money to "pad" his retirement fund.

The Show Me Cash game that Ivan won on is offered by Missouri Lottery. To win, you have to match 5 numbers between 1 and 39. The odds of matching all five numbers are approximately 1-in-575,000. Jackpots start at $50,000 and continue to grow if they are not won. The record jackpot for the Show Me Cash game is $506,000, which was won by Show Me Cash winners Dan and Kathy Balmer in 2010.

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Steven Granger Wins Big With Virginia Pick 4 Lottery

What's the most you could win on a Pick 4 lottery game? $5000? Ya, unless you buy a lot of tickets with the same numbers.

It seems that more and more people are doing just that, buying a lot of tickets with the same numbers and winning big. The craziest story is that of a a guy named William Harvey, who bought 700 Pick 4 tickets and won on ALL of them. Then there's also Douglas Holland, who won on 20 tickets, all with the same number.

Now we have Steven Granger. Steven apparently does the same thing - He buys a lot of Pick 4 tickets with the same number. On October 14, 2011, Steven claimed a prize of $65,800 from Virginia Lottery's Pick 4 game. He won by playing the number 5117 on 15 tickets. But that's not the only time that Steven won. He won the exact same amount, $65,800, on the exact same game, playing the exact same numbers on two separate occasions in 2010. So, Steven won $65,800 three times, for a total of $197,400.

You think Steven Granger buys a lot of lottery tickets? I think so. I'm guessing he spends about $15 a day to play his regular set of Pick 4 numbers, plus more on other lottery games.

Ya, Steve, plays other games too. He definitely plays Cash 5. I know this because Steve also win $900,000 from Pick 5 in September of 2009.

That's a grand total of $1,097,400 since 2009. WTF??? Steven just keeps winning and winning.

Steven Granger is lucky. That's the only explanation. So don't go buying a lot of lottery tickets to try to emulate Steven's luck. You're more likely to go broke doing that than you are to win.

At the time of his win, Steven Granger lived in Henderson, North Carolina, which is just south of the Virginia border.

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Muncie Meade - Winning The Lottery Is Easier Than Getting Struck By Lightning

Muncie Meade is pictured here from a photo taken when he won the lottery last year, in December of 2010. He's surrounded by his fiancee Allyson McCormick, three brothers, and some guy in a suit and tie.

Muncie won $19,120,000 in the December 11, 2010 Powerball draw. Prior to his win, his fiancee, Allyson, used to give him crap about buying lottery tickets. She used to tell him that it's easier to get struck by lightning than it is to win the lottery.

Hold on now... Is this true or is it just an urban legend? Is it easier to get struck by lightning than it is to win the lottery? Let's think about this. Every week, we hear about new lottery winners. The news is full of lottery winner stories. There's dozens of them every week. But how often do we hear about people getting struck by lightning? Not very often.

Maybe the news just doesn't report people getting struck by lightning. You think that might be it? How will we ever know the truth? Maybe someone should do a study.

Oh wait... Someone did do a study. Dr. Ed Stanek did a study which showed that, in 1996, 91 people were struck by lightning in North America. In that same year, 1,136 people won at least $1 million in North American lotteries. That was 15 years ago. Today, even more people are winning the lottery every year. What do you think now? This whole lightning theory might just be an urban legend, don't you think?

Muncie Meade's fiancee doesn't mind his lottery spending anymore!

At the time of his win, Muncie Meade was 24-years-old and living in Louisville, Kentucky. He owned a lawn care business, which he said that he will invest some of the lottery winnings in. He also said that he would buy a house for each of his three brothers.

The Powerball jackpot is BIG this week. Are you gonna buy a ticket? Winning the lottery is easier than getting struck by lightning, you know?

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Al Harding Lives The Lottery Winner Lifestyle

Meet Al Harding. He won the Lotto 649 jackpot last year.

Al is the type of lottery winner that I like. He's the type of guy that realizes he'd been lucky enough to get a gift that very few people get - Winning the lottery! He gets to live the lottery winner lifestyle.

Winning the lottery is a gift that you need to take advantage of. It gives you enough money to do whatever you want to do and buy whatever you want to buy. Some people don't take advantage of this gift and try to keep things the same as they were before the win. Some even keep working at their crappy jobs. They say that they don't want the lottery to change them. But, like it or not, winning the lottery is a big change.

Al Harding won $6,690,186 in the August 18, 2010 draw. "I thought there was something wrong; there was no way I was holding the winning ticket," he said. "I thought the heavens must have collided and everything was sideways. I still feel like it isn't real"

When he won, he told reporters about all the wonderful things he wants to do - travel to Japan and Germany, buy a sports car, build his dream house with a garage garage where he can work on restoring cars. He also stated that, with the lottery win, he doesn't have a care in the world. That's the lottery winner lifestyle!

At the time of his win, Al Harding lived in Edmonton, Alberta.

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Wesley Skinner - Big North Carolina Cash 5 Winner

This is Wesley Skinner. He's pictured here with his wife Jeanette. He just recently won a big jackpot from North Carolina's Cash 5 lottery game. He won $300,632.

Now, $300,632 isn't really that big relative to jackpots in games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. But it is big for a Cash 5 jackpot. North Carolina's Cash 5 jackpot starts at $50,000 and continues to grow if it is not win. So it did get quite big for Cash 5.

Of course, you can't retire from just $300,632. Wesley and Jeanette know that. So now they want to win more. They said that they now want to win the Powerball jackpot. Then it would be party time.

This proves my theory. I always that that if someone wins a few hundred thousand in the lottery and they get a small taste of what winning a lot of money feels like, they will want to do it again and win more - This time millions. Winning money is a rush to some people; it could get addictive. I'm not saying that Wesley and Jeanette will get addicted to winning money, just that it sometimes happens.

Wesley Skinner plays the lottery, but he said that he hardly ever plays Cash 5. He bought the tickets, though, because his wife urged him to - She heard that the jackpot was big. Luckily, Wesley listened to his wife (As all good husbands should).

At the time of his win, Wesley Skinner lived in Bladenboro, North Carolina, which is just south of Fayetteville.

The odds of winning the North Carolina Cash 5 jackpot are approximately 1-in-575,000.

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Jalil Khan - Lotto 649 $100,000 A Year For Life Bonus Draw Winner

Lotto 649 is one of Canada's biggest lotteries. For the month of October, 2011, Lotto 649 is offering a bonus draw with a prize of $100,000 a year for life.

The way it works is that the main Lotto 649 draw, and the prizes associated with it, remain the same. However, for each draw in the month of October an extra set of six numbers will be drawn. For every ticket that you buy, you can check your numbers against the bonus set of numbers to win the bonus prize. If you match all six of the bonus numbers, you win the prize of $100,000 a year for life. Alternatively, instead of the $100,000 a year for life, winners can choose to take the prize as a $1.5 million down payment, tax-free.

The first person to claim the Lotto 649 bonus prize is Jalil Khan. After discussing it with his wife and financial adviser, he decided to take the $1.5 million lump-sum payment.

Jalil Khan found out that he won the prize when he checked his ticket while on a break at work. Shocked at his discovery that he won, he had to take the rest of the day off and go home. He didn't even tell his boss the reason for leaving, just that he had to leave. as happens with most lottery winners, Jalil spent some time just staring at the ticket, not believing what had just happened.

At the time of his win, Jalil Khan lived in Surrey, BC, which is just outside of Vancouver. He said that he would use the money to pay off his debts, save for his kids' education, and go on a vacation.

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Fabian Mazuera - $9.7 Million Lotto Winner

Have you ever matched the first few numbers in a lottery game? The more numbers you match, the faster your heart beats. I know, because I once matched the first five numbers in a 6/49 game. I remember seeing the first two numbers - They matched. That was fine. Then the third number matched and I started to get excited. The fourth matched. I could feel my heart beating. The fifth number matched and my heart was pounding. Finally, I looked at the last number - It didn't match. Disappointment. But at least i got a little taste of what real lottery winners go through.

This is Fabian Mazuera. He had the same experience as I did. He was checking his CT Classic Lotto numbers. CT Classic Lotto is a 6/44 game, so you have to match 6 numbers. As he checked each number, and they kept matching, he felt more and more excitement. However, unlike me, he matched all 6 numbers. He was able to experience the real rush of winning the lottery.

Fabian Mazuera is a $9.7 million lotto winner. He won $9.7 million in the CT Classic Lotto game in the October 18, 2011 draw. I previously wrote about a Classic Lotto winner named Marilyn Citron; she won the exact same amount in the same game in 2010 - $9.7 million.

The CT Classic Lotto jackpot starts at $1 million and continues to grow if it is not won. When the jackpot was $1 million a few months ago, Fabian Mazuera bought a ticket, picking his own numbers. He continued to replay those same numbers for every draw and, as the jackpot kept rising, he was hoping to win it. Finally, his numbers hit in the October 18th draw.

Fabian Mazuera says that he will now retire and enjoy life. His first order of business, though, is a trip to Disney World.

At the time of his win, Fabian Mazuera lived in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

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Glen Pacifico Matches All 6 Sweet Millions Numbers

This is Glen Pacifico. He's being presented with a check for $1 million from New York Lottery. He won the million dollars by matching all 6 numbers in NY Lottery's Sweet Millions draw on September 26, 2011.

New York's Sweet Millions lottery game is one of my favorite games. That's because the odds of winning the million dollar jackpot, relative to other games, are quite decent. The odds of winning are about 1-in-3.8-million. Not bad at all, especially compared to a game like Mega Millions, which has odds of about 1-in-175-million. It's a fairly new game, too; it just started in September of 2009. The following month, in October of 2009, I wrote about the first Sweet Million winner.

I'm sure Glen Pacifico likes the game too, after matching all six numbers to win the grand prize. He's going to use the money to buy a condo, a new Cadillac CTS, and take a trip to Las Vegas.

The trip to Vegas is going to be perfect for Glen. See, he's retired and has a lot of time on his hands. He's stuck in a daily mundane routine, even though he's retired and has all the time in the world. That sometimes happens to retirees.

At the time of his win, Glen Pacifico was 51-years-old and a retired New York City Transit officer. With his big win, Glen's parents, who are also retired and live in Florida, are trying to persuade Glen to use the money to move to Florida as well. But Glen says that all of his friends live in Long Island and, so, he wants to stay in the NYC area.

On a side note, there was another Pacifico that won $1 million from New York Lottery this year. His name was Johnnie Pacifico. I don't think they're related, though; Pacifico is a common Italian surname.

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21 Sleepless Nights For Lottery Winner Carl Butts

This is Carl Butts. He might look like he's wearing a prison jump-suit, but he's not. He's really a hard-working, upstanding citizen of The United States of America. Hard working and dedicated to his job, he is. So dedicated, in fact, that when he won the lottery, he waited 21 days to cash his prize? Why so long? Because he had to wait until he had a day off work. That's dedication!

Carl won $100,000 playing the Jeep instant scratch-off game from South Carolina Lottery. His wife said that, for the first seven nights after the win, he just couldn't sleep. I think he really had 21 sleepless nights. I doubt most lottery winners would get much sleep until they actually went to claim their prize.

Carl Butts had been playing the Jeep instant scratch game since it came out. The top prize in the game is $100,000, which is what Carl won. The second prize in the game is a brand-new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. Carl had been playing the game because he really wanted to win the Jeep. Sucker... He didn't get his wish!

Well, Carl won $100,000. Now he can buy the Jeep and have money left over. It's great that he won, but his logic was kind of skewed. He was playing the game with the hopes of winning the second prize. That's like playing Powerball because you want to win the second prize of $200,000 (Powerball's first prize is tens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds of millions). But, hey, everybody's different.

So when Carl Butts won, he was working at Kroger grocery store. He waited 21 days for his first day off before going in to cash his winning ticket. He co-workers thought he was nuts. His boss even offered to drive him to the prize claim office, himself. But, no, Carl waited. Well, at least the wait is finally over and now Carl Butts is $100,000 richer!

No quitting his job for Carl. You can't retire with just $100,000. He's back to work at the Kroger store in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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Bonnie Dennis - Lottery Win Causes Laughter

Did you know that winning the lottery causes laughter? Ya, you'd be laughing all the way to the bank if you won the lottery.

This is Bonnie Dennis. She's the one on the right. She's pictured here with her good friend, Vicki. It was just a few weeks ago that Bonnie was driving to Vicki's house, when she decided to stop at the store on the way there. While at the store she bought a Georgia Lottery scratch-off ticket called Jumbo Jumbo Bucks. It was an impulse buy. Bonnie scratched the ticket and won the game's top prize - $500,000.

Then Bonnie went straight to Vicki's house to show her the winning ticket. That cased a lot of excitement in Vicki's household. Bonnie said that they laughed a lot that night. Ahh, laughter - They must have been happy!

On a side note, a lot of lottery winners that win the scratch-off games buy their tickets on impulse - They're at the store, a scratch-off game catches their eye, so they buy it and win. That happens quite often.

At the time of her win, Bonnie Dennis was 48-years-old, living in Stockbridge, Georgia, which is just outside of Atlanta, and working as a job specialist for people with disabilities. She said that she would use the money to pay off her mortgage and also to pay off her daughter's car.

The Jumbo Jumbo Bucks scratch-off game that Bonnie won on costs $10 to play. The odds of winning the $500,000 top prize are approximately 1-in-720,000.

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Belize Lottery Winner Gets Check From White Big Bird

There's big news in Belize this week - A "BIG" lottery jackpot has been won. The big jackpot was a whopping $175,000!

I'm being a little sarcastic here. A $175,000 jackpot win in The United States wouldn't even be news. However, in Belize, it is the second biggest lotto jackpot ever. It puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Pictured above is Joyce Shaw. She's the lottery winner from Belize. She won the $175,000 jackpot. What makes this even better is that a white Big Bird is giving her the check - That's awesome!

I officially love Belize Lottery now. They have the coolest mascot - White Big Bird. White Big Bird is so cute. We need lottery mascots like this in North America.

Joyce Shaw's story is quite interesting. She said that she began playing the lottery because she enjoyed the lottery TV commercials. When she saw the commercials, she said to herself, "I'm gonna win the lotto!" See, TV advertising really does work!

At the time of her win, Joyce Shaw was a school principal and lived in Unitedville, Belize. For those of you that don't know, Belize is a country in Central America; it is located directly south of Mexico. She said that she would give some of the money to charity and the rest of it will be given to her two daughters.

Joyce Shaw won $175,000. For the record, the biggest-ever lottery jackpot in Belize was $182,000.

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Lily Gallagher Goes Public About Lottery Win - Why Keep It A Secret?

Lily Gallagher is pictured here with her daughter, Melissa. One very important person is missing from the photo - Her son, Anthony.

I'll get to Anthony in a moment. But first, Melissa. Melissa won the lottery. She won €5.1 Million in October of 2011. That works out to $7,027,395 USD. As I write this, she has not claimed the money yet. Nope. She's going to wait a while. In the meantime, she has gone public about her win. See, you can't keep a secret like this locked up. Eventually, everybody's going to know, so why keep it a secret?. That's why she let the cat out of the bag.

Why, then, does Lily Gallagher want to wait to claim her prize? It's her son, the one missing from the picture. The Gallagher family live in Ireland. Over a year ago, her son, Anthony, lost his job as a plumber. He spent a year looking for a new job, but couldn't find one. The economy was bad and nobody was hiring. But he found work in Australia, so that's where he went. Anthony is not home and she wants him to be there when she claims her prize. Winning the lottery is a BIG deal. And, claiming a lottery prize is also quite a big once-in-a-lifetime event. Lily just wants him to be there.

You know how I said that you can't keep a lottery win a secret? Here's proof - Lily's son Anthony, who is in Australia, found out about his mother's win when someone stopped him on the street and said, "I hear your mammy is a millionaire!" (Ha ha, Mammy! I say mommy, you say mammy, but whatever). Half a world away and that's how he finds out - Friggin' incredible, isn't it?

So now Lily Gallagher waits. Waits for her son to come back to Ireland so that they can claim her prize together. When she finally gets around to claiming her lotto prize, Lily said that the first thing she will do is pay off her mortgage, her daughter's mortgage, and her son's mortgage.

At the time of her win, Lily Gallagher was 60-years-old and lived in Drogheda, Ireland, which is just north of Dublin.

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Eddie Mustin - Winner Of South Carolina Lottery's Big Dollar Doubler

It must have been fate - That's how Eddie Mustin described his $200,000 lottery win.

One night in October of 2001, Eddie Mustin was working the night shift at a power plant in Gaffney, South Carolina, which is near Charlotte, NC. That night, he left work early. He wanted to buy a pack of smokes. He stopped at the only gas station he knew of that was open at 3am to buy his smokes. It was in York, SC, near his home. While at the gas station to buy his smokes, he also bought an instant scratch-off lotto ticket.

Eddie took his scratch-off ticket outside and scratched it. He scratched and saw a $200,000 prize looking up at him. Unbelievable! That caused Eddie to wonder - What if he didn't leave work early that night? What if he left an hour later? Would he still have stopped at that same gas station? If he did, would that winning ticket still be there? According to Eddie, it was fate.

That night, Eddie Mustin went home and woke up his sleeping wife. He had a nervous demeanor about him and he was shaking. His wife saw this and thought the worst. She thought that maybe he had just been fired from his job. Of course, that wasn't so - Eddie had just won the lottery and he was breaking the good news to her. Of course, when his wife found out, she didn't mind being woken up in the middle of the night.

The couple have a big family. They have eight kids. So, the money will come in handy to pay off the mortgage and bills. Whatever money from the lottery is left after all the bills are paid will be put into savings.

Eddie Mustin won the $200,000 on an instant scratch game from South Carolina Lottery called Big Dollar Doubler. Big Dollar Doubler costs $10 to play and offers a top prize of $200,000, which is what Eddie won. The odds of winning the top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-288,000.

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Joe Petrash - Didn't Need The Lotto 649 Money, But He'll Take It

Joe Petrash won the lottery. He said that he really didn't need the money, though. But he'll take it. How does that make you feel? You really need the money but you don't win and here's Joe - He doesn't need the money, but he wins. Life isn't fair, is it?

This is another story of a guy that stashes his tickets without checking them. That's dangerous, you know? You could forget about them and then have them expire. We all know what happened to Martyn Tott, right? He forgot about his ticket and it expired; he wasn't able to claim the money.

Now here's Joe Petrash. He bought his winning Lotto 649 ticket in March of 2011. He never got around to checking it until September of 2011. The only reason he actually checked it was because it was a rainy day, so there was nothing else to do. Luckily, it hadn't yet expired and when he checked the ticket and Joe found that he won a $3,077,631 Lotto 649 jackpot.

Joe Petrash is a Lotto 649 winner. You already know that he said he didn't need the money. But since he actually did win, what does Joe plan to do with the money? He said he'll use it to travel the world. He's going to start by going to Paris, France. Bon Voyage, Joe!

At the time of his win, Joe Petrash lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

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Ged Blairs' Lottery Wish List Will Come True

Pictured here is Ged Blairs. I love this guy; he's a drunken party animal that won the lottery.

Ged Blairs also had a lottery wish list - That is, all the things he would do if he won the lottery. A lot of people have a lottery wish list, but Ged's will come true. That's because he won £2,405,436 ($3,795,340 USD) in UK's National Lottery in July of 2011.

On Ged Blairs' wish list is the following:

• Take an early retirement
• Buy a Jaguar
• Take a trip to Las Vegas
• Take a trip to Thailand
• Hit the gym to get back in shape
• Freedom to do anything
• Get a private box for him and his family at Britannia Stadium in Stoke City, England to watch a Stoke City FC soccer match

I'm sure that on his lottery wish list, too, is to get drunk. Ged Blairs described the moment when he found out that he won the lottery - He said he was too hung over to realize just how much it was that he won. See, I told you he was a drunken party animal! What do you think he'll be doing in Vegas and Thailand, going to museums? NO, I think not!

Ged Blairs had been playing the lottery ever since it began in England in 1994. He always used the same numbers - He used his birthday, his sister's birthday, his age, and his lucky number 33. Now he's a big winner!

Think about your own lottery wish list. It's good to have a list of things to do when you win the lottery, kind of like a bucket list, so that when the day comes, you'll be well prepared.

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Winning The Lottery Was Destiny For Robert Allen

Do you believe in destiny? Is there really a predetermined, inevitable course of events? Robert Allen, who is pictured here, believes so.

Robert Allen, a native of Buffalo Texas, believes that winning the lottery was his destiny. See, he went into the store with the intention of buying one particular scratch-off ticket, the Cash For Life ticket. However, the store ran out of the Cash For Life tickets and Robert was forced to choose another one. So he chose the Texas Lottery Black Series II game.

Robert scratched the ticket and won. He won the game's top prize of $1 million. What a change of events for someone that was looking to play a totally different game. He believes that he was "led" to play the particular game that he won on. That's called destiny!

Of course, winning the lottery came as a shock to Robert Allen. This is how he described it: "I was stunned. I thought I would jump up and down and do my million-dollar dance if I ever won, but I just sat there staring at that ticket."

Robert Allen won his $1 million on a scratch ticket from Texas Lottery called Texas Lottery Black Series II. The game costs $10 to play and the odds of winning the million dollar top prize are approximately 1-in-1.03-million.

Do you believe in destiny? Answer the poll below:

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Jackie Alston - We Won The Lottery!

This is a funny story about how "YOU won the lottery" turned into "WE won the lottery."

Jackie Alston is a Powerball winner from a few years ago. She won a $74.5 million jackpot in the November 29, 2006 draw.

When Jackie checked her ticket and found out that she won, she immediately told her brother, Algernon, the good news. Algernon, however, was skeptical. He was like, "You didn't win the lottery." Then he checked the ticket for himself and found it that it was true. Suddenly, it turned into "We won, we won!" WE? Ha ha, Algernon wanted to be included. He couldn't let his sister win the lottery on her own, right?

Jackie Alston's story is another one of those beginner's luck stories. When she won the lottery in 2006, she had only recently started playing. She never bought even a single lottery ticket prior to that year. In 2006, she bought, maybe, ten lottery tickets in total. Now she's a big winner.

After her win, Jackie Alston took about two months to claim the prize. She wanted to assemble a team of financial advisers, media specialists, and consultants prior to actually claiming the money. Here's a big surprise - Her brother Algernon was part of that team. Algernon - I love this guy!

At the time of her win Jackie was 38 years old, living in Halifax County, North Carolina, and working as a jail guard. She quit her job immediately following her big Powerball win.

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Tracy Chernish - Winter Getaway For Lottery Winner

One of the best things about winning the lottery is that it could make your dreams come true. We all have different dreams. Tracy Chernish, who is pictured here, dreamed of a winter getaway.

Like most of us, we need money to make our dreams come true. That was the story with Tracy too... Until recently. Tracy won $100,000 in the lottery. Now she's a lottery winner. That means her dreams of a winter getaway are about to come true!

Tracy Chernish won $100,000 playing the Extra game from Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC) in September of 2011. It took her a few weeks to actually get around to checking the ticket. Then in October of 2011, she claimed her prize.

Tracy said that when she checked her ticket and won, it was so unbelievable that she did the HAPPY DANCE. The happy dance, for those of you that don't know, is a certain type of dance that those crazy Canadians do when they win the lottery. They're an odd bunch, those Canadians!

At the time of her win, Tracy Chernish lived in Athabasca, Alberta, which is located north of Edmonton.

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Kenny Perry To Help His Struggling Family With Lottery Winnings

This is Kenny Perry. He's being decked out in a "millionaire" banner. That's because he's a new millionaire after winning $1 million from the Illinois Lottery.

Now Kenny can finally relax. He's been struggling his whole life. His mother raised Kenny and his five siblings alone. Being a single mother, there were a lot of sacrifices made; it was tough financially. But the family stuck together, through good times and bad. And, there were a lot of bad times. The worst of the bad times was when Kenny lost his arm to cancer a few years ago and it was his family that helped him get through his ordeal. Now it's payback time - Kenny vows to help his struggling family, just like they helped him.

With his million dollar win, Kenny Perry promised to buy a house for his mother and another house for his brother. Some of his family members will receive new cars too, including Kenny. Kenny plans to buy himself a new car, maybe a Chevy or a Dodge, or a Ford.

I know that Kenny Perry is thankful for having an amazing family and he wants to pay them back, but, to me, this sounds like it's going to be the classic example of the lottery winner blowing all of his winnings. I mean, Kenny won a million dollars and after a couple of houses and a few cars, it doesn't sound like there's going to be much left, if anything. It's important for Kenny to help his struggling family, especially since they've helped him so much, but he should be careful with his lottery winnings and not overdo it.

At the time of his win, Kenny Perry was 42-years-old and living in Lake Villa, Illinois, which is just north of Chicago. He worked as a volunteer at a local animal shelter and plans to continue volunteering there.

Kenny won his million dollars on a scratch game from Illinois Lottery called $200,000,000 Cash Spectacular. The game offers a total of 25 prizes of $1 million. Kenny was the first person to win $1 million in the game.

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Martyn Tott - At Least Suicide Wasn't An Option When He Lost His Ticket

Your life-long dream is to win the lottery. Now, imagine you're watching TV and you see your lottery numbers come up. You don't even need to check your ticket because you know the numbers - They're the same numbers you play for each draw. You won the lottery! It's party-time! Start celebrating! Now, go get your ticket and put it in a safe place. Oh crap, you can't find your ticket. That initial rush of emotion suddenly turns to fear, sadness, maybe even depression, a big contrast in emotions that would lead some people to kill themselves.

Actually, there have been people that committed suicide because of the lottery. A man named Timothy O'Brien killed himself in 1995 after believing that his numbers would have won the lottery, but he didn't buy a ticket (He committed suicide, but it was later discovered that he didn't actually match all of the numbers anyway). It's a sad story, but it happens.

Now back to the original story. A version of the above story played out when a man named Martyn Tott was watching TV one day in March of 2001 and heard a story on the news that a winning lottery ticket was about to expire. The winning ticket was worth £3,011,065 ($4,763,203 USD) Immediately, Martyn realized that those were his numbers; it's the same numbers that he played for every draw. The numbers were a combination of his and his wife's birthdays, special dates, and other special numbers. Bottom line is, he knew the numbers and they were his.

This was in the UK. Lottery tickets from the UK National Lottery expire after 180 days. When Martyn Tott heard the news story, there was just 4 hours left to spare before the tickets expired. Phew! Caught it just in the nick of time. Now he was on his way to living the good life. But not so fast...

Martyn Tott won the lottery, but he couldn't find the winning ticket. He checked everywhere, but it was gone. He called the National Lottery anyways to try to make the claim. Now, you can still claim a lottery win in the UK if you lost your ticket and they could verify that you were the rightful owner, but there's a catch - There's a 30-day time limit for lost tickets instead of the 180 days. The National Lottery verified that it was Martyn Tott that bought the ticket, but he didn't get the money because the 30-day window to claim it had elapsed.

Put yourself in Martyn's situation. How would you handle the roller coaster of emotions? Extreme elation, followed by a huge let-down. That would be tough for anyone to take and you now know that people have committed suicide over the lottery. At least suicide wasn't an option for Martyn Tott. But he was angry. That's him in the photo above, ripping up some lotto slips in front of a Jaguar that he could have bought, but never will.

This site covers lottery winners. Sure, Martyn lost his ticket, but he did win, even though he never actually got his money. So, I'm still including him in the lottery winners list.

Today, Martyn Todd says that he is doing good and that he is enjoying life now. However, it did take him a long time to get over the lottery incident, which even led to his divorce from his wife.

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Would You Give Half Your Money Away? Mark Delmonte Did

You know you're a good guy when you win the lottery and you give half of it away to a buddy!

Meet Mark Delmonte. He's the one partying it up with the girls in the photo. He looks like a swell guy - He can party, the girls seem to like him, and he gave away half of his money to his friend.

Mark Delmonte won $1 million playing Massachusetts instant scratch lottery game, Wheel Of Fortune, in October of 2011. Then he gave half of his prize away to his friend, Mike Bedell.

Yep, swell guy that Mark. I'm sure he even paid for the beers that the girls in the picture are holding. That's just the type of guy he is - Generous!

At the time of his win, Mark Delmonte was working as a general contractor and living in Methuen, Massachusetts, which is just north of Boston.

The Wheel of Fortune scratch game that Mark won on is offered by Massachusetts Lottery and costs $5 to play. The odds of winning the $1 million top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3-million (Note: Other state lotteries carry scratch names with the same name. For example, New York Lottery also has a scratch game called Wheel Of Fortune. They're different games that just happen to have the same name).

What about you? Would you give half your money away if you won the lotto?

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John Giovo - Wheel Of Fortune Instant Scratch Lottery Winner

John Giovo should never have won the lottery; it should have been his sister. But, as luck would have it, John won.

See, John was at the store buying lottery tickets to give to his sister as a birthday present. He bought a bunch of instant scratch lottery tickets, but also decided to keep one for himself. He chose to keep the Wheel Of Fortune scratch game.

John Giovo's sister didn't win anything from the lottery tickets he gave her. But John won with the one he kept for himself. The Wheel Of Fortune instant scratch game that he kept for himself was a $1 million winner!

John is now $1 million richer! His sister? Not so much!

John Giovo won his $1 million prize in September of 2011. When he discovered that his scratch game was a million dollar winner, John joked that he had to visit the emergency room because he ended up banging his head, repeatedly, on the car window. I call that LOTTERY SHOCK - It happens to most people after finding out they won the lottery!

At the time of his win, John lived in Carthage, New York. He said that he planned to use the money to pay off some bills and, also, visit his daughter in California.

The Wheel Of Fortune instant scratch game that John won on is offered by New York Lottery and costs $5 to play. The odds of winning the million top prize in the game are approximately 1-in-3.15-million.

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List Of Black Lottery Winners

A lot of people that come to this site are searching for black lottery winners. So to make it easy, I've compiled a list of all of the black lottery winners that I've covered here so far.

The people below represent $1,501,877,060 worth of lottery wins. Click on their photos to read their stories:






Check back often - As I cover more black lotto winners, I'll be adding them here.

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