A retired federal employee who plays the Lottery’s daily draw games does so using a list of combinations about which he feels pretty good. How good? Whenever he plays a particular number, he buys the same combination three times. He used this tactic March 2 on Pick 5 with 85230 as his feel-good combination.
No doubt it felt even better when the midday Pick 5 combination drawn by the Lottery was 85230, giving the Lanham resident a $150,000 payday.
“I’ve won plenty of times over the years doing this,” the Lanham resident told Lottery officials, referring to his purchase style. “Never a top prize, though. Never anything like this.”
While he’s never won a prize so big, the Lottery regular has been preparing himself for the moment he experienced the morning after his latest triple purchase. Despite the odds, he said, he believed he would hit big eventually.
“I check the previous day’s results first thing every morning. I saw the midday Pick 5 and had to look at it for a second or two before I realized they were my numbers. It was a great feeling, but after a few more minutes, I went back to sleep,” he said.
Orbit Beer & Wine sold the three top-prize-winning Pick 5 tickets, so the Prince George’s County retailer, at 9900 Greenbelt Road in Lanham, receives three $500 bonuses for a total of $1,500.
