The saying "Give me an ounce of luck and don't give me an acre of cleverness" proved true, as luck smiled upon a man from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, named Paul Corcoran, who became a millionaire twice after winning two major Powerball lottery prizes with odds of 1 in 292.2 million.
Exciting Details
Paul Corcoran planned to participate in the Powerball lottery draw on July 9, and he initially purchased a multi-draw ticket covering seven games, but mistakenly thought that the final draw for that ticket had ended. Less than 10 minutes after leaving the first store where he bought the ticket, he got a second ticket for seven draws - one of which also included the July 9 draw, according to a press release from Powerball.
The Red Jackpot
This simple mistake was the precious opportunity that gave Paul Corcoran a second chance to win, and he was just a few steps away from winning the red jackpot of $217 million, which is number 5 according to the Massachusetts Lottery.
Both winning Powerball tickets matched the five white balls drawn on July 9 - 5, 9, 25, 28, and 69, which made Corcoran earn one million dollars, before taxes, for each winning ticket.
Random Numbers
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Lottery said via CNN that he had been playing these same random numbers "for a long time" when he received his prize at the Massachusetts Lottery headquarters.
The spokesperson added: Both stores from which Corcoran purchased the tickets - Basket Supermarket in Fitchburg and Country Farms in Leominster - will receive $10,000.
The winning tickets were the first million-dollar Powerball tickets sold in Fitchburg and Leominster in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Lottery.
Corcoran told lottery officials that his double win gives him a good feeling, but he does not yet have plans for what he will do with his winnings.