A lottery player in Missouri had a stomach-churning moment when he thought he had won big after scratching off his ticket, only to realize it was a false alarm.
The incident occurred last week when John Smith, a resident of Springfield, Missouri, purchased a $20 scratch-off ticket from his local convenience store. The 45-year-old construction worker was feeling lucky that day and decided to try his luck with the Missouri Lottery.
After scratching off the ticket, Smith couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that he had won $100,000. His heart raced as he stared in disbelief at the winning numbers. “I was shaking and sweating, I couldn’t believe it,” Smith told reporters.
But Smith’s elation quickly turned to despair when he realized that he had misread the ticket. The winning numbers on his ticket were one digit off from the actual winning numbers. “I felt like I was going to throw up,” Smith said. “I was so close to winning, it was heartbreaking.”
Smith’s disappointment quickly turned to frustration as he stared at the ticket in disbelief. “I just kept saying, ‘Holy crap, holy crap’,” he recalled.
Despite the letdown, Smith says he won’t let this deter him from playing the lottery in the future. “I’ve been playing for years and I’ve never been this close to winning,” he said. “I guess it just wasn’t my lucky day.”
The Missouri Lottery has confirmed that Smith’s ticket was indeed a near miss, with the winning numbers being 14, 25, 36, 48, and 52, while his ticket had numbers 14, 25, 36, 48, and 53.
Smith says he plans to continue playing the lottery in hopes of striking it rich one day. “You never know when luck will strike,” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe next time I’ll get it right.”
