Kentucky Lottery player wins big by mistake

Thursday December 16th 2010

A lottery player from Henderson, Kentucky, has won $200,000 after buying a lottery ticket by mistake. Ryan Osborne, 26, was passing the Henderson Food Mart last Friday when he decided to buy a Powerball lottery ticket for what he thought was a draw later that evening.

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Halfway through the purchase he realised the draw wasn’t until the following day, and was about to tell the cashier to stop when he saw the ticket had already been printed. On Sunday morning when he checked his numbers, Ryan discovered how close he’d come to losing out on the biggest win of his life.

He told Kentucky Lottery officials: “It kind of took my breath away and my heart started beating fast. My mistake ended up making me a big winner.”

By matching five numbers, Ryan had managed to win the game’s second prize of $200,000. He was just one number away from claiming Saturday’s jackpot.

The win is sure to be a life changing event for Ryan, who lost his job a year and a half ago. Although he is now working again, he has been forced to take a major pay cut, and according to Ryan, his lucky decision to buy lottery tickets couldn’t have come at a better time.

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