Man picks lottery ticket based on feeling — and wins $3 million prize. ‘Unreal!’
A Virginia lottery player was highly rewarded after listening to a gut feeling that told him to choose a winning ticket, lottery officials said.
Ervin Antonio Torres said he nearly picked a different ticket, but his final pick won him a $3 million jackpot in the 50X the Money game, the Virginia Lottery said in a May 19 news release.
“Something told me to pick this one,” he told the lottery. “I don’t know why.”
He bought his ticket at a Wawa in Stafford, about a 67-mile drive northeast from Richmond, lottery officials said.
“It feels unreal!” Torres said.
The odds of winning the jackpot in the 50X the Money game were 1 in 1,836,000, according to lottery officials. Torres won the game’s fourth and final top prize, so the game — which began in March 2022 — is now closed, the lottery said.
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Man picks lottery ticket based on feeling — and wins $3 million prize. ‘Unreal!’."
