Man Wins Same Lottery Twice, Beating 9.7 Trillion Odds

Kenneth J. Stokes, of Norwood, Massachusetts,beat 9.7 trillion odds when he won the $25,000 a year for life lottery twice.

Stokes is a lottery season ticket holder. Due to this, he is automatically entered into the same contests, with a designated set of numbers, chosen by him. He had forgotten about the season pass and the set of lucky numbers that his family commonly used. He decided to buy a single ticket on the side, using the same numbers on Monday.

After the draw, he received a call from lottery officials on Tuesday morning, informing him that he had won through the season ticket.

“The representative called the individual who was the owner of the season ticket and informed him of that and then he was obviously elated to find out that he had won on that ticket,” said Massachusetts State Lottery director of communications Christian Teja.

“They hung up and he realized that he had purchased the same ticket on his own for that same drawing. During the phone call when they had spoken, the representative had mentioned there was another winner form Norwood. He called back and it all came together when he was like, ‘I’m that guy in Norwood.’”

Stokes had several prize options. He could choose the $25,000 a year for 20 years, doubled or an instant payout. He elected for an instant payout, $273,000 after tax which became $546,000 when the second ticket was added.

“I saw him yesterday. He was certainly in a good mood with a big smile on his face, as you can imagine,” Teja said. “He’s still somewhat in disbelief but very appreciate of his good fortune.”