In a surprising twist of fate, two women from Florida have managed to win $4 million each in the Mega Millions lottery. What makes their story even more remarkable is that they purchased their winning tickets at stores located just a mile apart. Reana Mahaney, 60, and Megan Chora, 40, both residents of Largo, matched the same numbers, missing out on only one digit that prevented them from claiming the mega prize. The Independent reports that the odds of this extraordinary event occurring were two in 25,000,000, highlighting just how rare and remarkable their shared victory is.
Going Beyond Defying Odds
Two different locations of the supermarket chain, Publix, sold two Mega Millions tickets that turned out to be worth $4 million each. The Florida Lottery’s official press release stated that both stores were situated on Ulmerton Road in Largo. A quick search on Google Maps reveals that the two locations are just a seven-minute walk from one another.
Chora was fortunate enough to obtain her ticket from the store situated at 10500 Ulmerton Road, while Mahaney’s ticket was secured from the store located at 10411 Ulmerton Road. As a result of their remarkable wins, both stores were rewarded with a bonus commission of $5,000 for selling the winning tickets. Although their tickets successfully matched all five white ball numbers, they unfortunately failed to match the Mega Ball, as stated in the press release by the Florida Lottery. Consequently, they received the second-place prizes, amounting to $1 million each. Interestingly enough, both women had decided to invest an additional dollar for the Megaplier, which ultimately quadrupled their respective prizes.
Chora claimed the cash first on October 30, while Mahaney received her win on November 5, according to the lottery. According to the lottery, they both had a one-in-12,607,306 chance of winning the Mega Millions second-level jackpot.
In an equally amazing instance, two thousand people in North Carolina won the same prize in the state lottery with the same four numbers. They received a total of $7.8 million from the Carolina Pick 4 drawing.
All of them unanimously chose the timeless combination of 0-0-0-0, setting a remarkable record for the highest cash out in a single Pick 4 drawing, as confirmed by state lottery officials. Following the drawing, numerous fortunate winners flocked to the lottery’s headquarters in Raleigh to claim their well-deserved prize money. The NC Education Lottery shared a captivating photo on Twitter, capturing the extensive line of eager individuals snaking in front of the building. Meanwhile, the remaining winners had a generous window of 180 days to collect their well-earned prizes.
In an incredible stroke of luck, 2000 individuals defied the odds of 1 in 10,000 by successfully matching all four numbers of NC Education Lottery’s Pick 4. According to officials from the NC Education Lottery, “Quads” are widely favored by lottery players, making this combination one of the most popular. This remarkable feat surpasses the previous record of $7.5 million, set in 2012 when the winning numbers were also a set of quads, specifically 1-1-1-1.
