National

These 10 lottery players tried their luck — and won big. See their stories

Stories by Real-Time News journalists, with AI summarization

Surprising lottery wins change lives across the country. In Missouri, a man believed he won $50,000 but was stunned when his ticket was actually worth $2 million. Meanwhile, a North Carolina player discovered a Lucky for Life ticket bought at a Winston-Salem convenience store would bring $25,000 a year for life.

Take a look at the stories below.

A Maryland woman took home a game’s top prize after an “unusual” instant lottery ticket caught her eye, lottery officials said. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 1: MOM’S ‘ADVENTUROUS NATURE’ PAYS OFF BIG IN MARYLAND LOTTERY. ‘IT JUST STOOD OUT TO ME’

The woman took home the game’s top prize. | Published May 20, 2024 | Read Full Story by Daniella Segura

A Maryland man won a scratch-off game’s top prize. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 2: MAN FINDS $10 IN POCKET AND SPENDS IT ON WINNING LOTTERY TICKET. ‘DIDN’T BELIEVE IT’

The Maryland man stopped for gas when he found extra cash. | Published May 29, 2024 | Read Full Story by Helena Wegner

A Maryland daughter’s $5 gifted lottery ticket to her mom turned out to be a $50,000 winner, but her mom thought it was a joke. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 3: MOM ‘FLABBERGASTED’ AS GIFTED LOTTERY TICKET FROM DAUGHTER WINS BIG. ‘SHE DESERVES IT’

The Maryland daughter’s $5 gift turned out to be much, much bigger. | Published June 7, 2024 | Read Full Story by Kate Linderman

A Maryland man won $50,000 when he made a stop on his way home from work. Pepi Stojanovski via Unsplash

NO. 4: LOTTERY PLAYER IN SHOCK OVER BIG WIN CALLS HIS DAUGHTER, THEN LOCKS TICKET IN SAFE

“I wasn’t expecting to win anything big,” the Maryland winner said. | Published July 26, 2024 | Read Full Story by Julia Daye

A Lakeland man won a $2 million lottery prize after he visited a Marathon gas station in central Florida, officials said. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 5: LOTTERY PLAYER WINS $2 MILLION JACKPOT PRIZE IN FLORIDA. WHERE WAS THE TICKET SOLD?

The player beat the 1-in-2,692,215 odds of winning the top prize, according to the Florida Lottery. | Published October 25, 2024 | Read Full Story by Olivia Lloyd

A big lottery win “came at the perfect time” for a pair of best friends, Maryland officials said. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 6: FRIENDS BUY SCRATCH-OFFS TOGETHER IN MARYLAND. THEN CAME PRIZE THEY ‘NEVER EXPECTED’

The men said the win “came at the perfect time.” | Published October 28, 2024 | Read Full Story by Paloma Chavez

A lottery player scored a huge windfall in North Carolina. N.C. Education Lottery

NO. 7: LOTTERY TICKET SOLD IN NC IS WORTH $25,000 A YEAR FOR LIFE. WHERE DID WINNER BUY IT?

Here’s what we know about the big win. | Published November 15, 2024 | Read Full Story by Simone Jasper

A North Carolina man won $8 million in a scratch-off lottery game that debuted in December, officials said. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 8: LOTTERY PLAYER ‘ON A ROLL’ BECOMES MULTI-MILLIONAIRE IN NC. ‘I HIT THE BIG ONE’

He spent $50 on the ticket and won a much bigger prize. | Published January 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by Olivia Lloyd

A Missouri man thought he won $50,000, but his prize was worth much more. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 9: LOTTERY PLAYER THINKS HE WON $50K. THEN HE LEARNS MISSOURI TICKET IS WORTH A LOT MORE

He turned out to be 40 times as lucky. | Published January 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Rhiannon Saegert

A Missouri woman considered the number 23 unlucky until she passed on a winning lottery ticket with that number to her husband. GETTY IMAGES

NO. 10: WIFE SAW ‘UNLUCKY’ NUMBER ON LOTTERY TICKET AND GAVE IT TO HUSBAND — BUT THEY WON BIG

“What I’ve learned is that there is no unlucky number!” the Missouri woman said. | Published March 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by Rhiannon Saegert

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.