A Virginia woman seems to have been touched by luck after winning a lottery game twice in one week! Jennifer Minton of Gloucester told lottery officials she was “in shock” following the double win.
According to the VA Lottery, Jennifer first won $50,000 while playing the online game Safari Quest. She won that prize in mid-October. Minton kept playing the lottery game, and one week later, she struck about 18 times bigger!
Woman Shares How She Won The Lottery Game A Second Time
She was reportedly sitting around a campfire, casually playing Safari Quest on her phone again. Minton noticed the jackpot “suddenly reset,” but it didn’t immediately set in that she was the winner. She remembers thinking, “Dang, somebody just hit. They’re so lucky!”
A few seconds later, she made the exciting connection! Minton had just won nearly $1 million — $ 912,936, to be exact.
“I’m in shock,” she told VA Lottery officials. “I’m in disbelief.”
Woah! Talk about lightning striking twice! A Virginia Lottery player scored a $912,936 jackpot from Safari Quest just one week after winning $50,000 from the same online game. ⚡️⚡️https://t.co/Q4QrH3rLbA
— Virginia Lottery (@VirginiaLottery) November 1, 2023
Safari Quest is “one of dozens of online instant games” available in the state’s lottery app, officials say. They list the odds of winning as 1 in 3.84.
Profits from Virginia’s lotto contribute to K -12 education funding in the state. In 2023, the gambling proceeds made up about 10 percent of Virginia’s total school budget. That figure was over $867 million.
The county Jennifer Minton lives in received about $2.7 million in lotto funds in the last fiscal year, per the VA Lottery website.
Just across state lines, a man in Maryland struck similar luck to Jennifer Minton back in April. He remained unnamed, but state officials say he won a $50,000 lottery prize three times in less than one year.
RELATED: Maryland Man Wins $50K Lottery Three Times In A Row
US man wins lottery three times with same number: ‘It hit again’ 💰💰💰💰💰💰#MarylandLottery #pick5 #Dollar https://t.co/oaY4ksEXdA pic.twitter.com/LNab6p0kWC
— ABC Mundial (@ABCMundial) April 24, 2023
Another stand-out win in this last year includes a Florida mother. In April, she won a $2 million prize after using her life savings to help her daughter amid her cancer treatment. The mother, Geraldine Gimblet, chose to take home a “one-time lump sum payment of $1,645,000.”
Her daughter told state lotto officials:
“The day before my mom bought this ticket, I rang the bell and walked out of the hospital after completing my last treatment for breast cancer. My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I’m just so happy for her!”
RELATED: Michigan Woman Chooses Between Lottery Prizes: $25K A Year For Life Or $390K One-Time Payout
