OHIO — An Akron man is celebrating a $3.5 million lottery win after playing the same set of numbers for more than two decades.
According to the Ohio Lottery, the man matched all six numbers in the Feb. 4 Classic Lotto drawing to claim the jackpot. He had been playing the same numbers for 22 years, saying he continued despite only a few small wins because he was “stubborn.”
Even after becoming a seasonal resident, he kept up the tradition with help from his best friend, who purchased tickets for him when he was out of town. The winner said he typically spent $10 a month on tickets.
When he saw the winning numbers — 6-8-16-20-26-45 — he immediately recognized them from memory, even though he did not have the ticket in hand. He told his wife, “We’re going to get a really big pool,” before traveling home to retrieve the winning ticket.
He chose the cash option of $1.7 million and will receive $1,281,875 after mandatory state and federal taxes, lottery officials said.
The winner said he has officially retired and plans to buy a house and build a home gym along with the pool he promised his wife.
The winning ticket was sold at MAPCO #1929, located at 997 Brown St. in Akron. The retailer will receive a $1,000 bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.
Classic Lotto drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at approximately 7:05 p.m. The jackpot starts at $1 million and increases by at least $100,000 each time there is no jackpot winner. The odds of matching all six numbers are 1 in 13,983,816.
Since 1974, the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $34 billion to education across the state.
