Talk about a wild night of luck.
A man from Fitchburg, Massachusetts hit big — not once, but twice — in the same Powerball drawing, winning two separate $1 million prizes. Yep, you read that right. Two tickets. Same night. Same numbers. Two milli.
So How Did This Happen?
According to the Massachusetts State Lottery, Paul Corcoran originally bought a multi-draw Powerball ticket for seven games. That ticket included the July 9th drawing. But he forgot it was still valid and went ahead and bought another ticket — with the exact same numbers — for that same draw.
Those numbers? 5, 9, 25, 28, 69 — all five white balls hit. He missed the Powerball (5), but still locked in that sweet $1 million per ticket.
Lightning Strikes Twice
Both of Corcoran’s tickets were legit winners. He walked into the lottery headquarters in Dorchester on July 11 and claimed a total of $2 million before taxes. Since he chose a lump sum payout, he’ll take home around $1.42 million after federal and state withholdings.
Stores got some love, too. The Country Farms in Leominster and a Market Basket in Fitchburg both sold the winning tickets — and each store earned a $10,000 bonus.
What Are the Odds?
Winning a $1 million Powerball “Match 5” prize? Odds are about 1 in 11.6 million. Doing it twice in the same night with two tickets that have the same numbers? That’s beyond rare. Like, astronomically rare. But hey — it happened.
What’s Next for Paul?
Corcoran hasn’t said much about what he plans to do with the money. And honestly? We wouldn’t either. Two million dollars can open a lot of doors — and it all started with what he thought was a mistake.
Moral of the Story?
Double check your tickets… and maybe don’t overthink that “extra” one. It might just change your life — twice.
