A man in Virginia almost became a billionaire — but he only ended up a millionaire because he didn’t trust his gut and changed his numbers at the last minute.
via Complex:
According to Virginia Lottery, Carlos Gutierrez went to Lee’s Sandwiches in Falls Church to buy a coffee and a chicken sandwich. In addition to his meal, Guiterrez bought a lottery ticket for the Oct. 9 Powerball drawing that ended up being the winning combination for the $1 million prize.
“The next day, when he stopped at the same location on his way to work, the store was buzzing with excitement,” a press release from the Virginia Lottery said. “A ticket bought there had won $1 million in the previous night’s drawing.”
Gutierrez matched the first five numbers (16-34-46-55-67) with 14 as the Powerball number on his ticket, which won him $1 million. However, Gutierrez initially had 19 as his Powerball number before changing it to 14 at the last minute. If he stayed with that number, he would’ve won the billion-dollar prize.
“Mr. Gutierrez said he initially selected all six of those numbers but at the last minute changed his Powerball number to 19,” the release said. “Had he stuck with those initial numbers, he would have won the jackpot.”
Even though he missed out on becoming a billionaire overnight, Gutierrez will be putting his winnings to good use as he’ll be expanding his small business, according to the Virginia Lottery.
Let this be a reminder — always go with your first instinct when it comes to playing the lottery.
