Man named Gambles wins lottery, and that’s not even the best part

[Illinois Lottery winner Larry Gambles / Illinois Lottery]

A man with the last name “Gambles” has won the lottery for the second time using the exact same numbers.

Larry Gambles of Chicago is a retired school administrator and perhaps the luckiest man in Illinois. The 65-year-old first won the lottery nine years ago using numbers from the jerseys of his high school basketball team, reports NBC Chicago 5. Back then, the prize was $50,000. Gambles was so pleased with the results that he decided he would keep using those same numbers whenever he played.

Nine years later Gambles’ approach finally paid off. The retiree matched all five numbers of the Lucky Day Lotto to win the jackpot of $1,050,000.

His reaction to the big second win? Disbelief. Gambles even went back to the store where he’d bought the ticket to ensure that he actually had the correct numbers, reports Ajc.com. The shop staff were as incredulous as Gambles.

“They couldn’t believe that I won the lottery again,” he said.

Repeat lottery winners are not unheard of. In December of last year a California man won twice on scratch-and-wins bought in the same store on the same day. The first ticket was for paltry $1000, but the second was for $10 million.

And in June of 2013, a Washington man won $55,000 on a scratch-and-win. On the way to the lottery office to claim his prize, the man bought a second winning ticket — with a jackpot of $200,000.

And while all of these multi-jackpot winners have proved themselves amazingly proficient at beating the odds, one man’s story takes the cake. Why? Because his name just happens to be Gambles.