KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas man was struck by lightning hours after buying three Mega Millions lottery tickets, proving in real life the old saying that a gambler is more likely to be struck down from the sky than win the jackpot.
Bill Isles, 48, bought three tickets in the record $656 million lottery Thursday at a Wichita, Kan., grocery store.
On the way to his car, Isles said he commented to a friend: "I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightning" than winning the lottery.
Later at about 9:30 p.m., Isles was standing in the back yard of his Wichita duplex, when he saw a flash and heard a boom — lightning.
"It threw me to the ground quivering," Isles said in a telephone interview on Saturday. "It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat."
Isles, a volunteer weather spotter for the National Weather Service, had his portable ham radio with him because he was checking the skies for storm activity. He crawled on the ground to get the radio, which had been thrown from his hand.
Isles had been talking to other spotters on the radio and called in about the lightning strike. One of the spotters, a local television station intern, called 911. Isles was taken by ambulance to a hospital and kept overnight for observation.
Isles said doctors wanted to make sure his heartbeat was back to normal. He suffered no burns or other physical effects from the strike, which he said could have been worse because his yard has a power line pole and wires overhead.
"But for the grace of God, I would have been dead," Isles said. "It was not a direct strike."
Isles said he had someone buy him 10 more tickets to the Mega Millions lottery on Friday night. While one of the three winning tickets was sold in Kansas, Isles was not a winner.
Officials of the Mega Millions lottery, which had the largest prize in U.S. history, said that the odds of winning lottery were about 176 million to one. Americans have a much higher chance of being struck by lightning, at 775,000 to one over the course of a year, depending on the part of the country and the season, according to the National Weather Service.
Isles, who is out of work after being laid off last June by a furniture store, said he did once win $2,000 in the lottery and will keep playing.
"The next time I will use the radio while sitting in the car," he said.
Thanks to Marilou for the tip.
Well now that he's got that out of the way, it's time for him to win!!
Good luck!
That was the sign that a win was oming to the state. Pity he wasn't the one celebrating after the drawing.
Further proof not to complain and not to jinx self and or others
I thought that FL was the lightening capitol of the USA !!!!!.... Either way, Toto, I ain't goin to Kansas to compare !!!
Isles, a volunteer weather spotter for the National Weather Service, had his portable ham radio with him because he was checking the skies for storm activity.
I'd say he found it.
I was told that weird things happen during a mercury retrograde, if this is indicitave of what happens... I am going to have to start paying more attention to this phenomena.
He should re-double his efforts in playing the lottery as lightening never strikes the same place twice, he should be safe!
Glad he is okay.
WOW!!! glad to hear that he is OK, he definitely needs to buy a POWER BALL!!!!!
THE TOPIC MAKING ME
This is a very simple and basic case of cause and effect...also known as the Law of Attraction. He said it, and because he believed, it happened exactly how he said and believed it. He didn't win, but he did get struck indirectly. Imagine if he had said he was gonna win with that same energy and belief...
Definitley gotta monitor what you say in life...it can make or break you.
L.L.
i was at a marina and a freind and me were talking fishing, what else ?
the sky turned dark w/ clouds,w/out warning a bolt of lightning struck a utility pole about 10 yards away,
i felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck, we ran, i jumped in my truck, drove down to 7-11 to buy a ticket.
but no not even a small win.
Careful what you wish for
He lived, he walked away with his life, so in essence he did win the lottery, the ultimate lottery.
The problem was he wasn't getting eaten by a shark at the same time. Todd called this one.
Its a funny story but no relievance to lottrey , what do lottrey got to do with lighting ? was he walking ? well he need to turn to the weather channel more often ...
No revelance to the lottery? The story is in definite relation to the lottery. You have never heard someone say, "You have better a better chance of getting hit by lightning than winning the lottery." OR, my new favorite by Todd in reference to the recent MM Jackpot while it was at 500 million, "the odds of getting hit by lightning while at the same time being eaten by a shark."
I doubt he ever said the lightning quote, he is just fabricating his story to make headlines and apparently it worked. But it does indeed look like he has a better chance art getting struck, because I bet he did not get a dime back from MM.
Agreed!
Always so bitter. At least you're consistent. It must be hell living inside your head.
I just wish for the normal things - to win a large sum, making me independently wealthy.
Forgot to put in email of this story to Todd that it's me "TigerAngel". LOLOLOL
now if he had won, then got struck , that would be talked about for ever more.