A LUCKY Virginia woman won $50,000 after buying her first lottery ticket.
Katelynne Berland was running errands for her mother, which included stopping to buy some lottery tickets.
two
While Berland waited in line at the 7-11 where she made the purchase, she decided to try her luck and get one for herself.
It was Berland’s Pick 5 ticket, according to a release from the Virginia Lottery, that won her and her family a large sum of money.
Pick 5 tickets are sold for $0.50 or $1, allowing players to choose between selecting numbers in “any order,” “exact order” or a combination of the two, according to the Virginia Lottery. website.
Berland chose the “exact order” and played the numbers 2-9-4-2-3, which ended up matching in that exact order, meaning she won the grand prize of $50,000.
It turns out that Berland has a bit of beginner’s luck. According to the Virginia Lottery, the odds of matching all five numbers in exact order are 1 in 100,000.
The odds of winning the lottery, according to Mega Millions, are about 300 million to 1.
You have a better chance of being struck by both lightning bolts, or even being hit by a meteor, than you have of winning the lottery, let alone on the first try.
Berland says she will use the money to help her sister pay for college.
But she is not the only one financing education through the lottery.
The Virginia Lottery was created in 1987 and is a state-run lottery.
But since 1999, all Virginia Lottery profits have been used to help fund public education in the state.
In 2023 alone, the Virginia Lottery sold more than $4.6 billion in lottery and scratch-off tickets, generating more than $867 million for education, which represents about 10% of the commonwealth’s budget for public schools, according to the Virginia Lottery website.
According to the Virginia Lottery, the Berlands live in York County, Virginia, which received more than $5.3 million in lottery funds for basic education last fiscal year.
The 7-11 where Berland purchased the ticket will also receive up to 5% of tickets earned from ticket sales, according to the state of Virginia’s website.
According to Nerd WalletLottery jackpot wins have become increasingly common in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In February, a Massachusetts man also won the lottery because of his mother.
Matthew Broadley received two instant scratch-off tickets as a Valentine’s Day gift from his mother.
The first ticket he played lost, but the second scratch-off was a $1 million winner.
The store where he made the purchase will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
As for Broadley, he chose the $650,000 one-time payment option, factoring in tax deductions.
“Thanks, Mom,” he said as he accepted the award.
Top US Lottery Winners
Millions dream of winning the lottery and finding fame and fortune. These are the biggest winners in US lottery history.
- Edwin Castro – $2.04 billion, Powerball, November 8, 2022, in California.
- Theodorus Struyck – $1.765 billion, Powerball, October 11, 2023, California.
- Unknown Winner – $1.602 Billion, Mega Millions, August 8, 2023, Florida.
- Marvin and Mae Acosta of Los Angeles, California, John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee, and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida – $1.586 billion, Powerball, January 13, 2016.
- Unknown Winner – $1.537 Billion, Mega Millions, October 23, 2018, from South Carolina.
- Winner unknown – he sued his child’s mother to keep his identity hidden – $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, January 13, 2023, from Maine.
- Unknown Winner – $1.337 Billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, from Illinois.
- Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Liem Chao – $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024, from Oregon.
- Yanira Álvarez – $1.08 billion Powerball, July 19, 2023 in California.
- Wolverine FLL Lottery Club – $1.05 Billion, Mega Millions, January 22, 2021, from Michigan.
- Winner unknown – $842.4 million Powerball, January 1, 2024, from Michigan.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
