Lottery number inspiration can come from anywhere, and one Washington D.C. native won a five-figure payday thanks to some advice and a coincidence. Retired metro worker, John Murphy, won $50,000 in the Maryland Lottery thanks to a license plate.
According to Maryland Lottery officials, Murphy bought a Pick 5 ticket at AJ Liquors as part of his normal routine. On his way there, he spotted a peculiar license plate he couldn’t ignore with the numbers 43871.
Most would think nothing of it, except the numbers happen to the the first three digits of Murphy’s cellphone numbers. He took it as a sign to play the very same numbers for the lottery.
Murphy was in “shock” when learning that those three numbers helped him win $50,000 on Oct. 17. When it comes to his winning luck, there was also another factor that came into play.
“My sister in-law knows that I play in D.C., but said to me, ‘You need to play in Maryland,'” he said.
AJ Liquors, where he bought the winning lottery ticket, happens to be in Brentwood, Maryland, roughly five miles outside D.C.
Murphy and his wife Zina collected his earnings on Tuesday, Oct 21. While he has no set plans on what to do with the lottery money, he did add that he and his wife like to travel. In return, AJ Liquors received $500 for selling the winning ticket.
There’s been a streak of lottery luck in recent months, with one Michigan woman having used ChatGPT to decide her lottery numbers. It led to a huge win of $100,000 after realizing she also included the Power Play in her ticket.
In September, Carrie Edwards also used the AI program to ask for winning lottery numbers. It led to an impressive $150,000 win that she gave away among three charities.
