The Massachusetts Lottery has had a few notable items to add to its collection of “Winning Stories” of late.
Among those stories are two different instances of lottery players earning eight-figure prizes in the span of just a few weeks.
As it happened, both involved a bit of extra serendipity beyond the pure luck of players purchasing winning tickets.
Second choice of gas station yields $10M win
Last week, someone purchased a Megabucks Doubler winning ticket at a 7-Eleven in Fairhaven.
The Massachusetts Lottery tweeted the news, and everyone wondered just who had won the incredible jackpot of just over $10 million in the contest.
Sometimes in these cases, it takes weeks or months (if ever) to find out the winner. But in this instance, Stephen Periera swiftly stepped forward to claim the prize.
As the Massachusetts Lottery reported, Periera had initially visited one gas station before discovering it was closed. He then chose a second option and drove to the 7-Eleven on Huttleston Ave. in Fairhaven, where he purchased his winning ticket for just $1.
Pereira selected the Quic Pic option, and the numbers 2-16-23-27-31-45 were randomly selected for him. Saturday night’s drawing produced those same numbers, making Pereira a multi-millionaire.
It was the largest Megabucks Doubler prize since March 2017, when someone won $11.34 million. According to the Massachusetts Lottery, the chance of hitting six out of six numbers as Pereira did is nearly 1 in 14 million.
Pereira went for the one-time payment option, receiving just over $8.4 million before taxes. Meanwhile, the 7-Eleven earned a nifty $25,000 bonus for selling him the ticket.
Return trip for second ticket lands $15M prize
Pereira’s win came not long after Douglas resident Raymond Cardogno won an even bigger prize in the lottery’s Ultimate Millions instant ticket game.
Late last month, Cardogno visited the Nouria gas station on Lackey Dam Road in Uxbridge. He purchased one Ultimate Millions ticket for $30, and after scratching it off found he had lost.
Cardogno had a feeling, however. He reentered the store and bought a second ticket. This time, after scratching it off, he saw he had won the $15 million jackpot.
It was a 1-in-7.56 million longshot, but Cardogno had hit it.
Like Pereira, Cardogno chose the one-time payment option, collecting $9.75 million before taxes. The Nouria station received a $50,000 bonus as well.
Sometimes second thoughts really are best.
