News writer
For almost a decade, a Kentucky man has had his eyes on the prize, faithfully playing the same two sets of Lucky for Life numbers based on personal milestones and sports heroes. On November 19, 2024, his dedication finally paid off when the Lexington man won the game’s second-tier prize level of $25,000 a year for life.
Even with the big win under his belt, the lucky player couldn’t help but calculate just how close he was to hitting the jackpot of a lifetime.
Persistence pays off
On November 19, life for Billy Glenn changed after the Lexington man consistently played the Kentucky Lottery draw game Lucky for Life. He matched the five white ball numbers in that night’s drawing to win the game’s second prize, which is $25,000 a year for life.
The winning white ball numbers for that drawing were 7, 10, 17, 24, and 26, and the Lucky Ball number was 13.
Glenn purchased the winning ticket from BP, located at 531 Southland Dr. in Lexington. For selling the winning ticket, the Southland BP will receive a $5,000 bonus from the state lottery.
This wasn’t a first-time purchase for Glenn, who told lottery officials he has been buying Lucky for Life tickets since the first day of sales in Kentucky, which was March 22, 2015. For over nine years, he has been playing the same two sets of numbers. These numbers consist of anniversaries and jersey numbers of his favorite major league baseball players.
“I’ve been playing for nine years, seven months and 29 days since the day I won Lucky for Life,” Glenn told lottery officials. “I’ve just been waiting for the dream.”
So close to getting it all
The lucky winner happened to be at home when he decided to check his ticket to see if he had a winner.
Glenn told lottery officials, “I looked at my ticket and I’m like, I’ve got the Lucky Ball (13) and 10 on one line.”
He continued to check his numbers and soon realized the first five numbers from his other set of numbers matched the winning white ball numbers. However, he missed matching the Lucky Ball number of 13 on that line. His Lucky Ball number was 12.
He said, “I was that close from getting it all.”
‘A nice little reset’
He may have been close to getting it all, but he still did walk away with a very nice prize. He recently showed up at lottery headquarters with his winning ticket.
For the Lucky for Life second prize level, winners get $25,000 a year for life with a minimum payment of 20 years or $500,000. Winners can also choose the one-time lump sum cash option payment of $390,000. Glenn chose the lump sum option and after taxes, he received a check for $280,804.32.
Glenn told lottery officials, “It’s been a blessing. I’ve been stressing for the last six months.”
Now with the winnings in hand, Glenn said he plans on paying off debt and doing some things around the house with the winnings.
He said, “One hundred thousand dollars is going to put me at ground zero. This is a nice little reset.”
Enjoy playing the Kentucky Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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