He swore lotteries were just a waste of time. Then he won big in the Virginia Lottery

There’s at least one buzzkill in every crowd who believes lotteries are a waste of time and money.

Danny Johnson of Hampton, Virginia, was that guy, which makes it all the more surprising he just won six figures in the Virginia Lottery.

A nagging friend gets the credit, according to a news release.

“Danny Johnson ... is one of those people who tells people they’re wasting their time playing lottery games,” Virginia Lottery officials said.

“He may not being saying that anymore. As the Powerball jackpot was growing to historic proportions in early November, a friend started hounding him, telling him he should get in the game. So finally, just to quiet his friend, Mr. Johnson bought a ticket.”

He won $150,000 on his first ever ticket purchase, lottery officials said.

The ticket matched four of the first five winning numbers and the Powerball number.

That was enough to win $50,000. But Johnson had spent “an extra dollar” for the Power Play option, which triples any winnings in the game, officials said.

“I looked at the winning numbers and said, ‘Hey I’ve got a few of those!’” Johnson told lottery officials. “I didn’t know how much I’d won because I never play.”

Johnson, who is retired, says he doesn’t have a plan for spending his winnings.

“However, he said he may have a surprise coming for the friend who hounded him into buying the ticket,” officials said.

Odds of matching all six Powerball numbers are 1 in 292.2 million, officials said. Odds of winning a lesser prize are 1 in 25.

This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 9:38 AM with the headline "He swore lotteries were just a waste of time. Then he won big in the Virginia Lottery."