A small change and a big bet make all the difference
By Kate Northrop
The stars aligned for one Virginia man, who hedged his bets on 20 identical tickets in the Virginia Lottery's Pick 4 drawing on Oct. 23 and walked away with a whopping $100,000.
One small change here and a leap of faith there, and William Newell of Alexandria suddenly became $100,000 richer after winning on 20 Pick 4 lottery tickets that each contained the same numbers.
Newell is a fan of the Lottery's Pick 4 draw game and normally buys his tickets at a nearby store. However, he decided to give online play a go and bought his tickets for the Oct. 23 day drawing on the Lottery's website.
Luck was on his side that day. When the drawing produced the four-digit combination 5-4-1-1, each and every one of his 20 tickets became a top prize winner.
Matching all four numbers in exact order on a $1 wager will net a top prize of $5,000. With 20 matching tickets, Newell collected a grand total of $100,000.
"It feels good, no doubt about it!" he told the Lottery in a press release.
Newell, who is retired, said he has no immediate plans for his winnings, but it's certainly a nice sum to have on a rainy day.
Just over a month ago, another Virginia man bought 40 identical tickets for Pick 4 and won $200,000 when every single ticket won the top prize.
Pick 4 drawings take place twice a day, once at 2:00 pm EST and then at 11:00 pm EST.
In May, the Lottery added the Fireball feature to Pick 3 and Pick 4. Players can add the Fireball option to their play for an extra dollar to improve the odds of winning a prize. Prizes and odds for Pick 4 plus the Fireball option can be viewed on the Prizes and Odds page.
Congrats to him, awesome week for Virginia
Whoa, Nellie!
Nothin' but good news comin' otta Virginia lately!
And that's good, cuz all I ever got otta there was speedin' tickets.
Awesome win for him...
There's a reason why these stories always have winners with multiple tickets. The player is trying to make a big score. But it's rarely reported why they played that particular combo, or how much they played and for how long?? I've always wondered if committing to a combo is worth the time and expense.
Maybe it's because PB and MM raised the ticket price to $2 and players are comparing odds of what they could win for the same two bucks playing other games. At odds of 14,547 to 1, can win $200 matching 3 + 1 with MM or win $1000 at 1000 to 1 playing pick-3. The pick-4 odds are 10,000 to and a $2 straight bet gets $10,000. To win the same prize playing MM, we have to beat odds of 931,001 to 1.
Obviously the $2 MM and PB tickets can win much more, but maybe more players are looking at the expected win betting more on the smaller odds games.
yep. the
ONLY TRUE WAY imo to win. love when i get p4's double to triple or more, i hope again soon this year.
congrats. better odds than losing cash on mb. and p-ball. g-night all.
I doubt the $2 price of the MM and PB tickets are the reason, people play multiple pick 4 and Pick 3 tickets with same numbers on it. Like someone else said the story NEVER says how long the guy had been playing those numbers. Buying 20 tickets, 7 days a week for 4 week a month, that money adds up. That is around $560 a month, to finally win 10 thousand dollars. In the long run, that does not seem worth it. At least with MM and PB, one can win millions of dollars.
"Buying 20 tickets, 7 days a week for 4 week a month, that money adds up. That is around $560 a month, to finally win 10 thousand dollars."
FYI a $20 winning ticket pays $100,000. The article doesn't say how long he played the same combo, but even at $560 a month, they could play for 178 months or 14 years and still show a profit.
"At least with MM and PB, one can win millions of dollars."
The game he played was pick-4 with a fixed $5000 for $1 payoff. When he made the bet he knew exactly how much he would win "if" his numbers were drawn. You're correct that one can win $1 million for two bucks playing MM and PB, but the odds against winning that $1 million are 11,688,054 to 1 for PB and MM is 12,607,306 to 1. Odds against are 10,000 to 1 in most pick-4 games for a straight combo regardless if they play 50 cents or $200 trying to win $1 million.
STACK 47:
It's Cassie, and icam.
Quite Flagrantly yyyep!
Obviously is right.'
Smart man he was, and won huge... #loveit
So happy when we who play wisely p4 weekly win $$$$$$ than Rigged/Waste of Cash/Mega-Powerball,
sorry. I like to win cash each month, thousands,
is the best $$$ feelin' and i know he is feelin' so overwhelmed,
like a real winner would.
Love P4 for years now, so, i am sticking with P4(at times p3)and i do that too with P3 (same KEY #s many x yep.)
Bye!
Going to check my p4's, for mid-day here in NC.
Good luck, if you're playing any for the month of NOV.
This is how you check the chop. Congratulations to you William Newell. I guess we can call you big Willie now 🤑🤑🤑
Yep, what a feeling hitting a pick-4 number straight even if it's a 50 cent ticket!
It's a difference of playing preference and the overwhelming odds against winning a huge jackpot or the $1 million secondary prizes are irrelevant to many players. Players can purchase 10 MM or PB tickets and take a chance or like William Newell, simply decided the size of the jackpot they want to win.
"When the drawing produced the four-digit combination 5-4-1-1"
Note to self: Next time play the number for a drawing or two; the KY midday drawing was 1451 today.