Retiree buys 20 Virginia lottery tickets with same 4 digits — and wins on all of them

In a move some might consider bold, a Virginia man bought 20 lottery tickets with the same numbers — and he won.

William Newell of Alexandria took the gamble last week in Virginia’s Pick 4 game, using the four-digit combination of 5-4-1-1, according to Virginia Lottery officials.

Odds of winning a top prize are 1 in 10,000 and he did it 20 times.

The top prize is $5,000, which made his winnings $100,000.

Like many jackpot winners, Newell was apparently tight lipped about how he picked the four numbers. A news release only quoted him as saying: “It feels good, no doubt about it!”

One thing Newell did admit to was recently changing his routine. He typically gets tickets at a store near his home, but not last week. “He recently decided to try playing online, buying his Pick 4 tickets at home using the Lottery’s website,” officials said.

The game affords players two chances to win, with drawings at 1:59 p.m. and 11 p.m. Newell won in the afternoon drawing on Oct. 23.

He is a retiree and “said he has no immediate plans” on how to spend the money, officials said.

It marked the second time a player won big on multiple plays in the same game last month. On Oct. 13, a Gainesville woman won $15,000 in Pick 4, officials said.

Pick 4 costs $1 per play, so Newell’s investment was $20. The game is one of five the state allows players to join via a website.

This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Retiree buys 20 Virginia lottery tickets with same 4 digits — and wins on all of them."