The first lottery draw of 2024 in Israel has produced not just one, but two winners, a couple, totaling a staggering prize of 9 million NIS.
The draw, which took place early last week, saw a lottery ticket and a double lottery ticket, both purchased by the couple, winning the first and second prizes.
The couple, both in their 40s, self-employed, and parents of three, live in one of the settlements of the Shefala.
Their winning strategy?
What was their winning strategy? The couple used the birth dates of their family members as their lucky numbers. A mere investment of 54 NIS on the forms turned into a life-changing sum of 9 million NIS.
The winners shared their story at the national lottery office, surprising the staff with their unusual luck. This isn't the first instance of multiple wins by the same individual in Israel's lottery history.
"On Tuesday, at the end of the work day, I purchased two lottery tickets from the lottery booth, which happened to be on my way home," the winner said. "The next evening, I looked at the lottery site to check the numbers and was surprised to find out on the first ticket that I had won the first prize. I didn't bother to check the second ticket because I already knew that I had won - because these were the same fixed numbers of my family's birth dates. The only thing that wasn't clear to me was whether I correctly guessed the strong number in the second ticket."
Initially, the wife thought it was a computer trick, only believing their luck after verifying the numbers through the lottery's app.
"2023 was challenging for us," the winners added. "We faced difficult challenges, both on a personal level and because of everything that has been happening in the country in recent months, and now we are happy to begin the new civil year with good news. We have a good and full life and right now, the only thing we were thinking about is to close our mortgage. We have studied and worked hard over the years and will continue with our lives as they were."
A similar event occurred in 2017 when a resident of Upper Galilee won over 22 million NIS after purchasing two identical lottery tickets.