A LOTTERY winner has claimed her numbers were inspired by her sister’s dream.
The woman, from Maryland, scooped the $25,000 jackpot after buying a Pick 5 ticket from a Food Lion grocery store.
1
The 68-year-old bought a 50-cent ticket ahead of the July 29 draw and played the numbers 2, 3, 8, 1, and 5 following a dream that her sister told her about.
Her sister said she was traveling on the number 23815 bus.
The winner, of Cockeysville, also plays the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games and admitted her dreams inspire the numbers that she selects.
She told Maryland Lottery: “I saw nothing in Pick 3 and Pick 4 tickets, but when I checked the Pick 5 it was straight across. I couldn’t believe it.”
The winner said she will use her winnings to pay bills.
A series of lotto success stories have hit the headlines in recent months.
Meanwhile, a woman, 49, scooped more than $100,000 in what was her third lottery win in just six years.
The lucky Maryland player had previously won prizes of $30,000 and $35,671 in 2016.
Most read in News Money
State lottery officials said the winner and her husband placed wagers on 20 horses in the virtual horse racing game Racetrax at a Valero gas station.
Her husband remembered to check their numbers when they were going about their day and was left stunned when he realized they had won the big prize.
He said: “I said, ‘Whoa, we finally got it.”
She replied: “He called me in to show me and I was like, ‘Really? Are you sure?”
They plan to spend their recent winnings paying bills.
And, the gas station that sold a ticket will receive a one per cent bonus, which totals more than $1,000.
BIG WINS
Meanwhile, lucky Joshua Locklear, of North Carolina, was left stunned when he won almost $600,000 after initially thinking he had pocketed $600.
He bought a $10 50X The Cash Ticket at the Pembroke Mini Mart gas station on June 5.
Locklear received a message from lottery officials that he had to go to their headquarters in Raleigh to collect his prize.
He told the North Carolina Lottery: “When I heard, I was like, ‘There’s no possible way I actually hit the jackpot.”
Lottery officials explained that the rolling jackpot goes up every time a ticket is bought, and the amount stood at $585,949 when Locklear purchased his ticket.
Locklear took home more than $410,000 after taxes were deducted.
He revealed that he wanted to use the prize to buy a house and car and give some to the community.
In May, Mohamed Salem, from Michigan, won $150,000 after a feeling in his gut told him to buy a ticket just minutes before the deadline.
