French lottery player scoops second jackpot

Montpellier man enjoys second jackpot in 15 years after continuing to play game using same numbers Most people would assume that, after a multimillion-euro lottery win, you have already had your luck and there would not be much point in buying another ticket. But a man in southern France has won the jackpot for the second time in 15 years by playing the same numbers. The man, an industrial worker from Montpellier who is in his 50s and wants to remain anonymous, first won the lottery in 1996, taking home the equivalent in francs of €2.8m (£2.47m). He kept playing the same winning numbers, spending €1,000 a month on various games. Last month, he won a second jackpot of more than €3m. He said he had a “lucky star”. When he was awarded his first cheque by lottery bosses in 1996, they jokingly asked him to keep supporting the game by continuing playing. He has been playing the same numbers since the French lottery started in 1976. “The first time I won, I nearly fainted, I went white and had trouble breathing before I really believed it,” the man told the BFMTV news channel. “This time, I took it all a lot more calmly, but with the same joy and the same gratitude towards fate.” He said he had invested his first winnings in business and planned to invest the second win for his two children’s inheritance. The lottery body, La Francaise des Jeux, said there was “one in more than a billion chance” of winning twice. There have been a handful of repeat lottery wins in France in the past 30 years, including one man who twice won €2.8m in three years. France Europe Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.