Lottery player honors grandpa with special set of numbers. It led to life-changing win
Hours before his grandfather’s death in 2018, a Colorado man bought a lottery ticket.
“Since then, he’s used those same numbers every time he plays,” Colorado Lottery officials said in a March 20 news release.
Those numbers, as it turns out, eventually led him to a life-changing prize.
Using his faithful numbers in honor of his grandfather, the man bought a Powerball ticket in Pueblo for the March 17 drawing, lottery officials said.
Soon, he got a phone notification with “the surprise of a lifetime,” lottery officials said.
The man had won $1 million by matching five numbers, 11-18-23-38-60, only missing the Powerball, lottery officials said.
He quickly told his wife and father about his massive win.
“You’re messing with me,” the winner said of his wife’s reaction to his news.
The man told lottery officials he plans to invest a majority of his winnings to reach retirement sooner.
He may, however, splurge on a few things, such as home improvements or a new car, lottery officials said.
“A Corvette would be my favorite,” the winner said. “But since I have two kids, maybe just a new Tahoe. It’s functional.”
Two more Powerball players won life-changing prizes in Colorado this month, lottery officials said. One player won $2 million on a ticket sold in Denver for the March 19 drawing, while another won $1 million on a ticket they bought in Loveland for the March 12 drawing.
Pueblo is about a 110-mile drive south from Denver.
What to know about Powerball
To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Lottery player honors grandpa with special set of numbers. It led to life-changing win."
