For some things in life it takes patience to achieve great success. And Paul Caudill was patient, you have to give him that.
The American from North Carolina has been playing the Education Lottery for years, a lottery that collects money for educational projects in the state. For as long as the lottery has existed, Caudill has been hoping to win big. He always followed the same strategy: he always typed the same numbers – every day for seven years. “The numbers were all different birthdays for people in my family,” he explained. This approach paid off after seven years, with Caudill getting all five numbers right.
When he found out about it, he couldn’t believe it at first. “I thought there must be a mistake,” said Caudill. “I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night.” His winnings were still there the next morning, he hadn’t dreamed. A ticket for two euros brought him great success. Incidentally, another player also got five correct numbers in the draw. According to the lottery, the chance of winning is 1 in 1.8 million.
From there, Caudill could choose between being paid $25,000 every year for the rest of his life, or receiving a one-off payment of $390,000. He opted to have the winnings paid out in one fell swoop. According to the lottery, he has almost $280,000 left after taxes are deducted.
Paul Caudill has just retired, but now he no longer has to worry about poverty in old age. While his winnings won’t make him a millionaire, they do provide good retirement security – and a little more than that. Caudill already knows how he intends to use his winnings: his house still has to be paid off.
Quelle: North Carolina Education Lottery
