A woman from North Carolina has unexpectedly become over half a million dollars wealthier after purchasing a digital instant-win ticket by mistake.
The bizarre victory happened when Cynthia Harris from Cary, NC was browsing the North Carolina Education Lottery site. Harris thought she was experiencing the free trial version of the Bison Bonanza game. In reality, she had unknowingly purchased a $2 ticket for the match.
This was not merely an ordinary ticket; it was the “biggest digital instant win since the lottery started providing digital instant games in November,” announced lottery officials in a news release on May 14.
Harris immediately secured $736,874 — $526,866 after taxes – beating odds of 15.5 million to one to win the top prize in the progressive jackpot game.
“I was like, ‘Wait how did this just happen?’” said a bewildered Harris. “It still hasn’t set in yet.”
“I am a blessed person,” she confirmed.
Extended Attempt
Harris isn't the sole fortunate individual to accidentally win the lottery. In April, Miriam Long from Christiansburg, Va., accidentally bought a Powerball ticket by pressing the wrong button, resulting in a $1 million win.
Long had planned to purchase a Mega Millions ticket because the jackpot had soared to a staggering $875 million at that point. Instead, she wound up with a terrible Powerball ticket featuring some randomly chosen numbers.
Luckily, those figures aligned with the initial five balls drawn from the lottery machine during that evening's drawing.
“It was the best mistake of my life,” reflected Long.
Beware of Strangers
However, the award for the most improbable lottery victory ever belongs to LaQuedra Edwards from Los Angeles.
In November 2022, Edwards was joyfully inserting $40 into a lottery ticket vending machine at an LA supermarket when she was jostled by “an impolite individual,” leading her to hit the incorrect button.
“He just bumped into me, didn’t say a thing, and just walked out the door,” Edwards complained.
Edwards stated that she typically purchased several less expensive tickets, but ultimately had one $30 200X Scratchers ticket. She felt irritated that the unfamiliar person caused her to drop most of her cash on one ticket, yet her spirits lifted when she scratched off the silkscreen latex to uncover a $30 million reward.
“I almost crashed my car,” she mentioned that, even though it’s uncertain if she ought to have been driving while scratching.
Edwards managed to purchase a house, all due to her encounter with an exceedingly impolite stranger.