Husband used wife’s old phone number in lottery games for decades. It just paid off

Kevin Connor of Leicester, Massachusetts, remembers his wife’s old phone number — the landline he dialed back when they were dating.

With these digits permanently memorized like a mantra, Connor has been using them for his Megabucks numbers for over 30 years.

Connor combines that old landline number with his wife’s favorite number whenever he plays lottery games. He did so once again on Wednesday, Aug. 21 when, after a round of golf, he decided to grab a ticket.

That Saturday night was the drawing.

“I woke up Sunday morning, picked up my phone, went right to the app, and beelined it to my Jeep to get my ticket and make sure I had the right numbers,” Connor told lottery officials in a news release.

It was a match. Connor had won $2.64 million.

The following day, he headed to the lottery headquarters in Dorchester to claim his prize. His lump sum payment after taxes was $1.87 million, according to lottery officials.

The windfall will help Connor pay for his children’s college tuition, he told officials. Oh and socks, Connor hopes to buy some new socks.

This story was originally published August 29, 2024 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Husband used wife’s old phone number in lottery games for decades. It just paid off."