Newly retired grandpa has 2 ‘crazy’ lottery wins on same night using secret strategy
Earl Joyce Sr. is a strategic lottery player.
“I play the same numbers every day,” Joyce told Maryland lottery officials, according to an Oct. 27 news release. “People get discouraged and change their numbers and then it eventually hits. I tell them to stay with your numbers.”
Joyce followed his own advice recently, playing his usual numbers on Sept. 13. As expected, it “hit” and his plan paid off: He won two prizes, totaling $75,000, in one night.
The 67-year-old placed a 50-cent straight bet in the Pick 5 drawing and bought a $2 quick-pick ticket for the Bonus Match 5 drawing. He used his lucky numbers 23482, the same numbers that are on his truck’s license plate, he told officials.
“It was crazy. I hit the $25,000 on Pick 5 and then I checked my Bonus Match 5 tickets and saw that I won $50,000. I couldn’t believe I hit both,” Joyce said.
A father of three, Joyce has several grandchildren, he told officials. He retired from the Howard County Board of Education on Sept. 1, and he plans to use his winnings to travel.
After his win, Joyce returned to Columbia Auto Care and Wash, where he bought both of his lucky tickets, to buy more tickets, officials said.
“I went back to the store and they told me, ‘We sold a $50,000 ticket’ and then I smiled. The clerk said, ‘It was you, wasn’t it!’” Joyce told officials.
Howard County is about 40 miles north of Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published October 28, 2022 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Newly retired grandpa has 2 ‘crazy’ lottery wins on same night using secret strategy."
