Lottery player wins second top prize in a year — this time with ‘heartwarming twist’
A longtime lottery player used a “heartwarming” strategy to win Washington, D.C.’s top prize twice in nearly one year, lottery officials said.
Vattel Jackson first won a top DC 5 cash prize of $25,000 on June 21, 2023, DC Lottery officials said in a news release. Then he returned to the DC Lottery Prize Center to claim the same prize June 18, 2024 — after playing his aunt’s birthday on her actual birthday.
“I was in shock!” he told officials.
“Now, $50,000 richer, Jackson says he’s buying land,” officials said. Jackson did not disclose where he planned to buy property.
He started playing the DC Lottery in 2007 and has been a “dedicated player ever since,” officials said.
He bought his 2023 winning ticket at a 7-Eleven and purchased the most recent winning ticket 5 miles away at Jocelyn’s Market in the Brightwood neighborhood, officials said.