Unlucky lottery: How a UK teen's $252 million win turned into a banking mishap
At the meager age of 19, Rachel Kennedy decided to try her luck with the lottery, joined by her boyfriend, Liam. They had a system in place - they played the same sequence of numbers for several weeks. As it turned out, this tactic paid off. One day, their numbers came up! Rachel and Liam were astounded by their good fortune. It appeared they were about to become immensely wealthy. Their selected numbers resulted in a potential win of an incredible 252 million dollars!
1:46 PM EST, January 9, 2024
But how does one go about winning millions?
For a long time, Rachel had remained resolute in her commitment to betting on her lucky numbers. She harbored dreams of a big win. She even had a specialized app on her phone that bet the same numbers each day and automatically purchased the lottery ticket. Despite countless attempts, the odds of winning remained incredibly low.
Consequently, Rachel was taken aback one day by a notification on her phone. "When I opened the app, 'Winning Match' popped up. I thought: Oh my God, I've won!" she revealed during an interview with The Sun. Indeed, she had won a significantly large sum, totaling 252 million dollars.
252 million dollars slips through Rachel's fingers
Ecstatic, the young British woman immediately shared the thrilling news with her boyfriend. He, too, had a vested interest in this win since they both took part in choosing the lucky numbers. After breaking the news to the family, Rachel called Lotto EuroMillions, where she received confirmation that she had picked the correct numbers. Then, as quickly as Rachel's life had transformed into a dream, it swiftly turned into a nightmare. But why?
The grim reality surfaced. Despite having the correct numbers, they did not win the 252 million dollars. When the ticket was supposed to be bought, Rachel's account lacked the funds required to pay for it. Regrettably, Rachel did not notice the payment failure. On that unique day of her supposed win, she hadn’t purchased a ticket, meaning her participation in the lottery was not counted.
In an interview with The Sun, Rachel's boyfriend, Liam, admitted - "My heart sank when the man on the other end of phone revealed we hadn't bought a ticket after all. I was already picturing our dream house and car. In the app, it truly seemed like we had won." Despite their heartache, the couple chose to share their misfortune online. On the upside, they found solace in the support of numerous friends and internet users.
So, is it easy to win the lottery?
The odds of winning a major lottery, like the Mega Millions or the Lotto, are said to be four times less than the chance of being struck by lightning someday. Though the chances of winning are genuinely slim, it's not utterly impossible! The keys are persistence, having a system, and, above all, luck! There are indeed winners—even multiple-time winners like the renowned Romanian mathematician, who, thanks to his formula, claimed the top prize 14 times!
