Discouraged lottery player vows just ‘one more try’ — and wins a fortune in Virginia

There’s nothing quite as soul crushing as repeatedly losing in the lottery, so Brent Butler of Virginia was justified in vowing to give up — after one last try.

What happened next is the stuff of lottery legend.

“That one last try resulted in a jackpot win of $2,204,371,” Virginia Lottery officials said in a news release.

The lucky win came in Banker’s Bonus, an online game with a progressive jackpot that grows until someone like Butler stumbles on the right “cluster” of symbols.

Butler didn’t say how many times he lost before deciding “to give it one more try.”

The odds “vary by price point,” but about 1 in 3.90 players win something, lottery officials say.

His initial reaction to the win was not revealed.

“I can tell you my wife was more happy than me!” Butler told lottery officials.

Butler lives in Woodbridge, about an 85-mile drive north from Richmond, and he works as a home contractor.

There are “no immediate plans for his winnings except to pay bills,” he says.

However, he gave that job a second thought.

“I might not go to work today,” he said in the release.

Banker’s Bonus is played on the Virginia Lottery’s app and on the lottery website, valottery.com, the game reports.

This story was originally published August 14, 2024 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Discouraged lottery player vows just ‘one more try’ — and wins a fortune in Virginia."