Woman wins $200K from second printed-by-mistake lottery ticket

A woman in Nebraska has had the most peculiar relationship with lottery draws. Lori Sailors of Lincoln has been unabashed about her lottery hobby, purchasing tickets frequently, and grabbing news headlines not so much by the amount she has won, as to how she has won it.

Winning a second time because of the same mistake

Her latest win, coming from Nebraska Lotterty’s Pick 5 game, has fetched her $200,000 in prize money, but here is the interesting bit – the winning ticket was "printed by mistake," the lottery confirmed. Nebraska does not disqualify winners if an extra ticket has been printed or a mistake on the lottery’s part has been made, so Sailors is in luck.

Yet, her story doesn’t end with the $200,000 win – it’s in fact the latest chapter. As it turns out, Sailors previously won a $50,000 prize from another Pick 5 game ticket which was, as you may have guessed by now, printed by mistake as well! She won the previous award in 2019 and has topped up this win with yet another one.

This puts her total winnings at $250,000 from the lottery with the latest ticket scooped up at the Casey's store on N 48th Street. Sailors already has a plan for the money, as she and her husband, Monte, will first pay off their daughter’s student loans, and then put the rest away in the bank.

Being smart about your lottery winnings

The Nebraska Lottery has used the opportunity to also tout the importance and impact of the Pick 5 game, which is both affordable and has an actual bearing on state welfare. "Proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers," the lottery explains on its official website.

An entry into the game costs just $1, and players have to pick 5out of 40 numbers and get them right to win. Each time the game resets, the jackpot starts at $50,000, with each draw that comes up without a winner, increasing the prize pot by $10,000.

The actual chance of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 658,008, which is pretty slim, but still within the grasp of what is possible. Just ask the Sailors.

Image credit: Nebraska Lottery