NEED TO KNOW
- A New Jersey couple won a combined $4 million in prizes on two separate scratch-off tickets this year
- “The combined odds of winning both are roughly 1 in two trillion,” lottery officials said, noting that a player would be 1.2 million times more likely to be hit by a meteorite
- The couple are currently expecting their third child
A New Jersey couple have defied what state lottery officials describe as “1 in two trillion” odds to win two top lottery prizes just several months apart.
The Ocean County couple recently won a $3 million prize on a scratch-off ticket that they purchased at a gas station in Toms River, New Jersey Lottery officials announced in a news release earlier this month.
Incredibly, the duo — who are expecting their third child — had already won a $1 million top prize in April.
“The combined odds of winning both are roughly 1 in two trillion,” lottery officials said. “For comparison’s sake, a player would be 1.2 million times more likely to be hit by a meteorite.”
New Jersey Lottery Director James Carey described their wins as “pure blind luck.”
The husband and wife chose to remain anonymous but shared statements with lottery officials. They said that with two kids at home — ages 11 months and 5 — and a third on the way, they don’t have much downtime.
“With our kids, we can’t really get out of the house,” the husband said. “So at the beginning of the month, we get some tickets. When the kids go to bed, we scratch a few off.”
“We like to make it a bit of a competition — who can win the most,” he added. “It seems we at least always break even.”
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As for their latest big win, the husband said that after he began scratching he thought they might’ve won something and handed the card to his wife.
“I looked at it, held it to my chest and screamed,” she said of the $3 million prize.
“Ten seconds later, she’s laughing,” the husband recalled, adding that he had told his wife, “Babe, we got luck on our side.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or go to gamtalk.org.
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