Harry Black, 66, has been playing the same lotto numbers for 35 years.
On April 13th, those numbers paid off: he won Lotto 649 — twice.
According to a press release, “The 66-year-old Surrey resident has a unique habit of purchasing not one, but two tickets with the exact same numbers. For the April 13 Lotto 6/49 draw, this habit really paid off as Black twice matched all six numbers to win half of the record-breaking $63 million jackpot.”
Because he won with two tickets, he gets a larger share of the winnings than if he had played with just one.
“If Black had bought just one ticket, the pot would have been split three ways and he would have won $21 million. But because he bought two tickets, he earned himself an extra $10 million. It’s a dream scenario and one that’s never happened in B.C.,” CTV News reported.
“This is a wonderful surprise to all of us,” said Kevin Gass of the British Columbia Lottery. “While it’s not known how many people buy identical tickets for a draw, it is the first time in the company’s recollection that we’ve had this unique sort of win.”
Black, who works part-time in the film industry, doesn’t plan on quitting his job. He does, however, plan to travel, invest and build his dream home with the winnings.
“After this is done, I’ve got to get out of Dodge and do something I’ve never done in my entire life: go on a holiday,” he said.