People who play the lottery have different beliefs when it comes to betting. Although the odds of winning are the same, some always play the same number, others prefer to vary based on important dates, and others leave it to chance. In the case of John Lang, a resident of Essex, Maryland, USA, his grandchildren’s ages led him to win a $50,000 prize! The winner bought a Bonus Match 5 ticket at a Baltimore County establishment, where it was the employees who gave him the news when he went to check his ticket the next day.
This is not the only case reported in Maryland, as People magazine also covered the story of a man who won $200,000.03 by choosing a sequence of numbers based on a truck’s license plate.
Those who don’t play don’t win
Playing the lottery is, for some, an act of faith, while for others it is a matter of luck. The truth is that all numbers have the same probability of ending up as a prize, so the choice of a bet is more of a personal matter. Birthday dates, wedding anniversaries, ages, and even numbers from phone numbers! The combinations of the most superstitious are endless, but there are also those who leave everything to chance.
John Lang: Grandpa’s pride
If grandchildren are a source of pride for grandparents, John Lang’s case makes even more sense after what happened. This resident of Essex, Maryland, United States, decided to play by betting on the ages of his grandchildren, thus managing to become the winner of a prize of nothing more and nothing less than $50,000! This is how the Maryland Lottery maches echo of it. Mr. Lang used to use different combinations when choosing his tickets, but this last time he wanted it to be more meaningful.
The numerical combination he chose was more special, as it was based on the age of each of his grandchildren. He bought a Match 5 ticket at an establishment in Baltimore County, unaware of what was about to happen. When he went to check his numbers the next day, it was the staff at the establishment who delivered the news, “Mr. John, you just won $50,000”. Half a million dollars ended up belonging to him thanks to the family-motivated bet. Could it be that he also plans to reward his grandchildren with part of the prize?
More lottery winning cases in Maryland
It seems that lottery luck has a liking for Maryland. It was also there that People magazine reported the case of another lottery winner, in the most random way possible. It involved a driver who, while waiting at a red light, noticed the license plate of the car right in front of him. The number was 19363. He claims that he doesn’t know why, but he felt that this should be his bet (and indeed it was!).
He placed four straight bets of one dollar each and four boxed bets of one dollar each, corresponding to the night and midday drawings on August 6 and 7. That was when he became a lottery jackpot winner, claiming a prize of $200,000! The lottery authorities insist on letting players know that the odds of winning are exactly the same for all numbers. However, there are those who prefer to trust their instincts or who prefer to cling to that number that has brought them so much luck on other occasions.