This Massachusetts man became a millionaire twice in one night – thanks to a lucky lottery mistake

CNN

20-07-2025

One lucky Massachusetts man bought two winning lottery tickets at two different stores, earning him a $2 million payday.
Paul Corcoran of Fitchburg, a small city in north-central Massachusetts, planned to play in the July 9 Powerball drawing. He had initially purchased a multi-draw ticket covering seven games but mistakenly believed the final drawing on that ticket had passed, according to a news release from Powerball.
So, less than 10 minutes away from the first store where he bought a ticket, he picked up a second ticket for seven Powerball drawings — one that also included the July 9 drawing.
That simple mistake earned him a second chance at the $217 million jackpot, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.
Both winning Powerball tickets matched all five white balls drawn on July 9 – 5, 9, 25, 28 and 69, earning Corcoran $1 million, pre-tax, per winning ticket, according to Powerball.
Corcoran's numbers just missed the red Powerball, lucky number 5, falling one number short of the full jackpot. He said he's been playing those same random numbers 'for quite some time' when he claimed his winnings at the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters, a state lottery spokesperson told CNN.
Both stores where Corcoran bought the tickets – a Market Basket supermarket in Fitchburg and a Country Farms convenience store in Leominster – will receive a payout of $10,000, the lottery spokesperson said.
The winning tickets were the first Powerball tickets worth $1 million sold in Fitchburg and Leominster, Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.
Corcoran told lottery officials his double win feels good, but he does not yet have plans for what he will do with his winnings.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The next Powerball drawing is July 21 with an estimated jackpot of $308 million.