‘A great Halloween’: NC man won big lottery prize after playing same numbers for decades
A Charlotte-area man’s Halloween night became a bit sweeter when the same five lottery numbers he’s been playing since the 1980s finally paid off big time.
Antonios Gioulis of Huntersville bought a Lucky for Life ticket using online play through the lottery’s website and won $25,000 a year for life.
“We had a great Halloween,” Gioulis, a banker with Wells Fargo, told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “The kids were coming to the house and I said, ‘What the heck, let me play the numbers.’ ”
Gioulis’ persistence worked in his favor because the same numbers he’s played for over 30 years matched all five white balls in Sunday’s drawing. The winning numbers were 5, 7, 11, 21 and 29, according to the lottery website.
“These are the numbers I randomly picked,” Gioulis said. “I just stuck with them. I played the very first lottery week in Pennsylvania with these numbers, and I won a thousand bucks.”
Winners of the game’s second-tier prize are guaranteed $25,000 a year for life. The winner can also choose to claim the prize as a lump sum of $390,000. Gioulis chose the lump sum, and after taxes, he took home $275,926.
Gioulis, who is of Greek descent, was already planning to take a family trip to Greece next spring following his daughter’s college graduation. Now, he said he will expand the trip to include visits to Albania and Italy to introduce his children to their Mediterranean heritage.
“We’re definitely Mediterranean and the kids have been dying to go,” Gioulis said. “This will be my chance to give them the grand tour. We’re going to go and enjoy life.”
The odds of matching all five numbers in a Lucky for Life drawing for the $25,000 a year for life prize are 1 in 1.8 million.
Gioulis plans on putting most of his winnings towards retirement savings, and donating some to charity, he said.
Lucky for Life has 10 ways to win a prize, and drawings are held every night. The top prize is $1,000 a day for life.
