Man wins $2M after buying 2 identical lottery tickets by accident

Yahoo

6 days ago

A man in Massachusetts became $2 million richer after buying two $1 million-winning lottery tickets, all by accident, according to Powerball.
Paul Corcoran, from Finchburg, participated in the July 9 Powerball drawing, but with one unusual, unplanned twist -- he bought one ticket for seven drawings, but then "mistakenly thought the final drawing on that ticket already occurred," so he then purchased another ticket for the same drawing, Powerball said in a press release on Tuesday.
This lucky mistake led to Corcoran winning two $1 million prizes for the same drawing, according to lottery officials.
"Both Powerball tickets matched all five white balls drawn that night," officials said.
Corcoran claimed his prize of $2 million -- the amount before taxes -- at the Massachusetts State Lottery's Dorchester headquarters on July 11, officials said.
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According to officials, Corcoran noted that he does not have plans for where he will spend his winnings, but said the "wins feel good."
His initial ticket was purchased at a supermarket in Finchburg and the other was purchased at a gas station in Leominster, Massachusetts, officials said. Each store will receive a $10,000 bonus for their sale of these winnings tickets, Powerball said in a statement to ABC News.
According to Powerball, the overall odds of winning one prize in a drawing are 1 in 24.9, but the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Corcoran couldn't immediately be reached for comment.