A North Carolina woman's patience and persistence finally paid off when she won a $154,168 (Rs 1.3 Crore) Cash 5 jackpot after using the same lottery numbers for six years.
According to the North Carolina Education Lottery, Hope Mills resident Barbara Munford has been faithfully playing the same set of numbers since she first chose them years ago. Her consistency paid off when her ticket matched all the winning numbers in the recent draw.
Munford credited her sister for motivating her to keep playing the same numbers, saying her advice and belief turned out to be true.
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“My sister convinced me to keep playing those same numbers,” Munford said. “She told me I was going to win one day.”
Munford, a substitute teacher and grandmother of four, said she checked her numbers from Monday's drawing just after midnight.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god that's me, that's me, I won,'” she recalled. “I was so excited.”
Munford then became emotional when she started thinking about the significance of her big win.
“I was in the living room crying,” she said.
She bought her lucky $1 ticket from Lucky Stop on Legion Road in Hope Mills. The odds of matching all five balls are 1 in 962,598.
“I love the Cash 5 now,” Munford laughed.
Munford claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $110,616. She plans to use her winnings to pay bills.
