Mum wins big on the Lottery after son 'copies someone else's numbers'

25 February 2024 , 16:14

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A family won $50,000 after a mum sent her son out to pick their numbers (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A mother sent her son out to buy a lottery ticket - and his sneaky trick ended up landing her a huge prize.

The Maryland parent told him to select her numbers for the big draw but lacking inspiration, he copied those selected by another player who was filling out the slip at the same time. After taking a quick peek at someone else’s Pick 5 ticket earlier this month he played them for himself - and the family's numbers came in.

The unnamed son's mother was at the doctor and checked the winning numbers on her phone, according to lottery officials. The 68-year-old couldn’t believe she had scooped $50,000 and spoke about her spending plans. “This is much needed relief money,” she said following her surprise big win.

She went on to say that she was so stunned by what she saw that she needed to calm down before leaving the doctor’s. She plans to use her winnings to pay off some of her bills and make improvements to her home after her son told her how he had picked the numbers for the winning ticket.

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Mum wins big on the Lottery after son 'copies someone else's numbers'

Her took a look at another players' numbers and tried his luck with them (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Some US states are luckier than others when it comes to your chances of winning, new research shows. Data analysis carried out by Jackpot City Casino found that Maine is the luckiest state in the US in terms of average winnings for the state per winning ticket holders, at a total of $574,900,000 (£455,884,202) per ticket.

But when it comes to where you might be most likely to win according to population size, Vermont comes out on top with one winner per 647,464 people. The research's results were based on data about previous jackpot winners across the US. Looking at lottery jackpots where the prize money was over $300million per winning ticket, Jackpot City Casino found that Maine was the front runner.

Coming in second is South Carolina, with slightly less winnings at $550,550,000 (£436,509,073) per ticket. Rounding out the top three is Massachusetts, at $480,500,000 (£380,969,230) per ticket. But when considering where you might be more likely to win relative to the population size, it is Vermont that steals the number one spot - despite having just one winner out of a population of only 647,464. Maine and New Hampshire trail slightly behind in second and third place with one winner per 697,861 and 701,027 people, respectively.

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Last month, Indiana was named the luckiest state for winning Powerball, a game offered by 45 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The Hoosier State boasts 39 Powerball jackpot wins since 1992, when the game began.

Just weeks ago, we reported that a group of employees and teachers from a Kentucky middle school who bought a $1million (£790,000) Powerball winning ticket tucked it in a maths textbook for safekeeping before claiming the prize. The group of 30 educators, some retired, met at Rector A. Jones Middle School in northern Kentucky near Cincinnati and have been playing the Powerball together for eight years.