North Carolina Man Wins Two Jackpots After Buying Identical Lottery Tickets

A man in North Carolina bought two identical lottery tickets and ended up winning two jackpots.

What’s better than one jackpot? Two. Scotty Thomas, 49, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, won big twice after buying two identical Luck for Life lottery drawings. This all happened after he forgot if he’d bought a ticket for the lottery drawing already.

“I was just laying in bed watching a basketball game on TV and I couldn’t remember if I filled it out or not,” said Thomas. “I went ahead and filled it out again and the next morning my son asked why there were two different amounts listed. I realized, ‘I think I filled it out twice.'”

According to the lottery, he ended up winning $25,000 a year for his drawing from November 27, and then he won $1,000 a day for life payout. “When I realized I won, I had to lay down on the floor because I really just couldn’t believe it,” Thomas said. “It’s just a blessing.”

Instead of getting the money sent to him each month and each year, he decided to be paid in a lump sum, which came out to $780,000 for both tickets. After taxes, he was given $551,851.