Winner Stories
For the past 10 years, a group of co-workers from Kokomo have shared a weekly tradition of playing Hoosier Lottery Draw games together whenever jackpots start to climb.
What began as a larger office pool eventually narrowed down to just three long-time friends about six years ago. The three friends, who all work at the Kokomo Transmission Plant, each contribute $20 a week toward Hoosier Lottery tickets, keeping their total weekly spend at $60.
Their years of playing led to a memorable moment when the group won $2 million playing Mega Millions®.
One member of the group purchased the winning ticket at Casey’s in Kokomo. Although he had never stopped at that location before, he decided to visit the store because it was conveniently located on his way home.
After the drawing, one member of the group began checking the numbers and initially thought he had copied them down incorrectly because every number seemed to match.
He quickly called the other two members of the group, and together they started checking the numbers themselves. At first, the trio believed they had won $1 million. Moments later, they realized the ticket included a multiplier, increasing the prize to $2 million.
The group said they were already shocked thinking they had won $1 million, making the realization that they had actually won $2 million even harder to believe.
Wanting confirmation that the win was real, they scanned the ticket using the Hoosier Lottery Mobile App and received a message instructing them to visit the Hoosier Lottery Prize Payment Office.
“That’s when it finally started to feel real,” one member said.
The trio described the experience as surreal and said it took a few days for the news to fully sink in. They have since shared the exciting news with their immediate family members.
The friends said the win comes at a meaningful time in their lives as all three have started thinking more seriously about retirement and spending additional time with their families.
They each plan to take a memorable vacation with their families and enjoy the opportunity to celebrate together after a decade of playing as a group.
Mega Millions® Overall Odds: 1 in 23.07