(NEXSTAR) – A Minnesota couple with a long history of playing the lottery finally got lucky, becoming the state’s latest Mega Millions winners.
On the first day the Minnesota Lottery sold scratch tickets back in 1990, the couple, who have chosen to remain anonymous, went on their first date. They had pizza and played scratch tickets.
Now, almost 32 years to the exact day of their first date, the married couple has claimed the roughly $66.9 million Mega Millions prize, according to a press release.
For many years, the wife, dubbed “Ms. Lottery Winner” in the release, has been playing the same numbers – sometimes changing a number or two – for many years. When the numbers for the April 12 Mega Millions drawing were called (2-8-14-20-31, Mega Ball 17), the woman didn’t need her ticket to know she had won.
She admitted to rechecking the numbers a few times, and did, thankfully, have her ticket.
The next day, she and her husband did go to work as usual – but they aren’t just going to stash their winnings. Their plans for the influx of cash include buying a house and a car, and traveling.
This is Minnesota’s first Mega Millions jackpot winner since the state joined the game in 2010.
Lottery winners have been finding some special luck recently.
One Iowa man recently credited a mistake in how his ticket was printed for helping him win the $1 million Mega Millions prize earlier this month.
In California, a woman said “some rude person” bumped into her while she was selecting the scratch-off games she wanted from a machine, causing her to punch in the wrong number. That ticket ended up paying off – she won the top prize of $10 million.