Same lucky numbers made thousands winners in NC lottery. Now comes $2.9 million payout
A set of lottery numbers proved to be lucky — leading to thousands of wins on the same day in North Carolina.
More than 7,000 tickets scored prizes in the Pick 3 game, which allows players to choose three numbers or have a machine select their numbers at random.
The winners all tried their luck on the numbers 5-5-5. That same combination — plus Fireball number 9 — was picked in the game’s Oct. 7 daytime drawing, the N.C. Education Lottery wrote on its website and X, formerly known as Twitter.
Since three-of-a-kind numbers are popular, the drawing had “a lot more winning tickets than usual.” Now, the lottery is set to dole out $2.9 million in prizes, a spokesperson told MClatchy News via email.
In all, 7,502 tickets won a prize in the drawing. Of those, 7,423 had the lucky 5-5-5 combination, officials said.
Players who spent 50 cents on their tickets are set to get $250 richer. Meanwhile, those who paid $1 won $500.
The lottery didn’t immediately share additional details on how the $2.9 million payout compares to others. The odds of winning a Pick 3 prize with any set of numbers in the exact order they’re drawn is 1 in 1,000.
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Same lucky numbers made thousands winners in NC lottery. Now comes $2.9 million payout."
