Forgetful lottery player bought same ticket twice. It was a profitable mistake
A Maryland lottery player couldn’t remember if he bought a ticket for the Aug. 20 Powerball drawing.
So, “just to be certain,” the Prince George’s County man unknowingly bought an identical second ticket, Maryland Lottery officials said in an Aug. 27 news release.
His forgetfulness, it turns out, led to a profitable mistake.
On Aug. 12, the man played “a series of family members’ birth years” on a Powerball ticket and added on a Double Play feature for $1 more.
Double Play follows the main Powerball drawing, and players can enter for another chance to match their “numbers in a separate drawing with a top cash prize of $10 million,” according to Powerball’s website.
“I played it and I forgot I played it,” the player told lottery officials of his first ticket purchase.
Six days after that purchase, the man said he bought another ticket.
When he checked the Aug. 20 Powerball results, the player knew he had won at least one prize of $500,000 in the Double Play drawing by matching five white balls, only missing the Powerball, lottery officials said.
“He told his wife about the $500,000 sure-thing, but kept it in the back of his mind to check for a possible second ticket when he got home,” lottery officials said.
Soon enough, the man found his initial ticket at home and rushed to tell his wife.
“To look her in the eye and say I had a $500,000 win was good. It was really good to say I had a million,” the winner said, adding that it was “truly an unbelievable moment!”
The couple, who recently retired, said they are planning to use their winnings to help their children and grandchildren.
What to know about Powerball
To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Forgetful lottery player bought same ticket twice. It was a profitable mistake."
