A man who believed that "lotteries are a waste of time and money", ended up winning a prize of $150,000 (approximately Rs 1.22 crore). According to a report in Miami Herald, Danny Johnson was pressured into buying the lottery ticket by one of his friends. He kept urging Mr Johnson to buy the ticket, citing the huge prize money others have won in jackpots. The Hampton, Virginia, resident finally agreed to buy a ticket and his fortune then turned around and he won a huge prize money.
"Danny Johnson... is one of those people who tells people they're wasting their time playing lottery games," Miami Herald quoted Virginia Lottery officials as saying in a release.
"He may not being saying that anymore. As the Powerball jackpot was growing to historic proportions in early November, a friend started hounding him, telling him he should get in the game. So finally, just to quiet his friend, Mr Johnson bought a ticket," the officials further said.
Mr Johnson said he bought the ticket on November 5 from state lottery agency's website. His ticket matched four of the five winning numbers and the Powerball number. That was enough to win $50,000.
But Mr Johnson had paid extra money for the Power Play option, which triples any winnings in the game.
"I looked at the winning numbers and said, 'Hey I've got a few of those,'" Mr Johnson told Virginia Lottery, as reported by the Herald. "I didn't know how much I'd won because I never play."
He is a retired person, and currently has no plan to spend the money. He may, however, gift his friend a surprise, according to Miami Herald.
