Virginia Man Wins $100K After Buying 20 Identical Lottery Tickets

The lucky player hit the top prize on each of his 20 Pick 4 tickets.

Mar. 27, 2026 at 8:06pm

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A Virginia man named Prentice Douglas bought 20 identical lottery tickets for a single Pick 4 drawing and ended up winning the $5,000 top prize on each one, earning him a total of $100,000.

Why it matters

Winning the lottery is an incredibly rare occurrence, with the odds of hitting the top prize on a single ticket being extremely low. This story highlights the unusual strategy of buying multiple tickets with the same numbers, which paid off tremendously for this lucky player.

The details

Douglas, a Hampton resident, told Virginia Lottery officials that he plays Pick 4 every day and always selects the numbers 3-2-3-8. For the March 7 drawing, he visited a 7-Eleven and purchased 20 tickets, each with the same set of numbers. When the drawing took place, all 20 of his tickets matched the winning numbers, earning him $5,000 on each one for a total prize of $100,000.

  • Douglas bought the 20 tickets on March 7, 2026.
  • The winning Pick 4 drawing took place on March 7, 2026.

The players

Prentice Douglas

A resident of Hampton, Virginia who regularly plays the lottery and won $100,000 by buying 20 identical lottery tickets.

Virginia Lottery

The state-run lottery organization that oversees and administers lottery games in Virginia.

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What they’re saying

“I play Pick 4 every day, and I always select the numbers 3-2-3-8.”

— Prentice Douglas

The takeaway

This story serves as a reminder that while the odds of winning the lottery are extremely low, employing unique strategies like buying multiple tickets with the same numbers can sometimes pay off in a big way. However, it's important to remember that lottery winnings are still largely a matter of chance, and players should only spend what they can afford to lose.