Lottery player wins W2b jackpot twice from same set of scratch tickets

A lottery player who saved up scratch tickets and checked them only when feeling down has walked away with 2 billion won ($1.41 million) after hitting the jackpot twice in a row.

Lottery operator Donhaeng Bokgwon recently shared the story of the winner, identified only as A, on its official website. A won the top prize in the 68th showing of the Speetto 2000 scratch lottery, taking home 2 billion won.

A purchased the winning tickets at a lottery retailer in Yeoncheon-eup, Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province.

A said he had made a habit of buying one set of Lotto and Speetto tickets every week but never scratched them right away. Instead, he would save them up and check them all at once whenever he had a hard day or was feeling low.

One evening, after a tiring day at work, A came home and remembered the pile of Speetto tickets he had been setting aside. He began scratching through them one by one — and then spotted a first-place symbol he had never seen before.

"A first-place win appeared right before my eyes — something I had never seen before," A said, recalling the moment. "I was so shocked I couldn't say a word."

He then remembered that he always bought Speetto 2000 tickets in sets. "I thought there might be another first-place ticket in the set," he said. "With trembling hands I checked the rest, and sure enough, another first-place win came up."

"Every week I bought tickets with a vague hope that luck would find me someday," A said. "I still can't believe that kind of luck actually came."

He added that the excitement kept him awake that night, and that his parents were overjoyed when he told them the news. "My life had been worn out in many ways lately, and this has given me a real burst of energy and hope — I'm truly grateful," he said.

A said he plans to use part of the winnings to pay off a loan.

Speetto 2000 is an instant scratch lottery in which players win a prize when two lucky symbols match. The top prize is 1 billion won per ticket. Because the tickets are sold in two-ticket sets, if one ticket in a set wins first place, the other does as well — giving the buyer a combined 2 billion won.