14 January 2024 , 17:56
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A lucky lottery player who bagged £40,000 after four decades of trying to win big has revealed his unique number-picking strategy.
The man from Maryland, who requested to have his identity hidden and only be named as "Fego," lives in Prince George's County and scooped the mega-payout in a Bonus Match 5 game.
Speaking about an unorthodox technique he used to pick the numbers, he told the Maryland Lottery: "I play the ones that show up a lot, the numbers that appear often."
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A Maryland man recently won $50,000 in a Bonus Match 5 lottery game after his unorthodox number-picking strategy proved successful (Fox News)Fego, who has been playing the lottery since 1980, bought his winning ticket on Tuesday, January 9, at a convenience store in Riverdale for just £1.50.
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The Maryland Lottery website, which spoke to the lucky winner, revealed: "All three lines of the ticket contained sets of his personal numbers — and apparently brought him some luck.
In previous attempts, Fego had won some money but it was only a much smaller amount and nowhere near the massive £40,000 he scooped earlier this month, Fox Business reports.
Fego's lucky winning numbers were 5, 11, 18, 26 and 29 - and now he plans to pay off some of his bills as well as sharing a portion of the winnings with his brother. The store where he got the ticket has also earned themselves a prize.
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Another person - who hasn't claimed the prize yet - won the same amount just a day after Fego (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The lottery website said: "For selling a top-prize winning Bonus Match 5 ticket, Super Convenience Store located at 6010 66th Avenue in Riverdale receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery.
Fego was the second person to win the jackpot for the Bonus Match 5 game in 2024, with the other winner getting their ticket just a day later. However, this prize is still not claimed.
The Maryland Lottery was founded in 1973 and since then it has contributed more than $19 billion to the state through the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control.
A spokesman said: "To achieve our mission, we provide entertaining games that are run with honesty, integrity and transparency, and give Marylanders 18 years of age and older the chance to win cash and other great prizes. The Maryland Lottery has distributed more than $31.5 billion in prizes.