Man’s ‘gut instinct’ led him to $273,000 lottery jackpot

The North Carolina-based man is using his lottery winnings to purchase a house

A man decided to trust his instincts when he played the lottery — and it paid off in a big way.

North Carolina resident William Evans played the digital lottery game Multiplier Mania, where people have to find certain symbols for a chance to win the jackpot. However, before he even played, he had a hunch that this game would make him a winner.

“Something just told me to play that one,” Evans told the North Carolina Education Lottery in a press release. “I’m stoked.”

Multiplier Mania features a progressive silver or gold jackpot that can potentially be won every time a person plays. In the game, players spend anywhere from 50 cents to $30 per play. However, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery, the odds of winning the top-level, “gold,” jackpot are one in 40 million.

Still, Evans trusted his gut and took a chance on this game. In fact, he spent just $1 and won the gold jackpot, worth $273,520. “I was like, ‘Am I reading this right?’” he recalled. “It was kind of nerve-racking.”

William Evans holding his check after winning $273,520 in a digital lottery game (North Carolina Education Lottery)

“I was just sitting at home, kicked back in my recliner when I won,” he added.

Evans officially claimed his winnings at the lottery headquarters Friday, and after taxes, he walked away with $196,251. He plans to use the money to buy property. “I want to have my own place,” he said.

Since Evans won, the jackpot in Multiplier Mania has reset to $83,567 as of July 29.

Evans isn’t the first lottery player in the U.S. to win big recently. Earlier in July, a woman stopped at a Redi Mart gas station in Lyman, South Carolina, and bought herself three Money Madness Extra Play scratch-off game lottery tickets after her husband forgot to buy them.

While she didn’t win anything from the first two tickets, she said her third ticket was “magical,” since it won her the top prize of $500,000.

The woman also shared her plans for her earnings, adding: “I’ll have a little fun, take some trips, and retirement will come sooner rather than later.”

Also this month, school bus driver Russell Ruff, who’s based in Connecticut, discovered that his lottery ticket was worth $150,000. He first lost the ticket shortly after purchasing it on Friday, June 13, at a gas station.

However, when his 16-year-old cat got stuck behind his bed, he had to move the furniture, and rediscovered the lottery ticket.

With the ticket back in his possession, he realized he had four of the five winning numbers, plus the Powerball number. He also had Power Play added to his ticket, which allows you to multiply your non-jackpot winnings by a specific amount. As a result, Ruff’s prize increased from $50,000 to $150,000.