September 17, 2012 -- Gary and Olivia Kern of Wallingford have a simple routine for buying CT Lottery “Lucky for Life” tickets—Gary is the “buyer” and Olivia is the “checker” after the drawing to see if they have any winners.  “I gave Olivia the winning numbers printout from the retailer, and then I went outside.  I’m in the yard, and I hear her screaming,” Gary told Lottery officials.  “When I came in to see what was wrong, she tells me we matched five numbers.”  

A quick trip to a local lottery retailer to scan their Lucky for Life “Quick Pick” ticket in a Ticket Checker confirmed their good fortune—a prize match for $25,000, the game’s second highest prize.  Lucky for Life’s top prize is worth a life-altering $1,000 a day, every day for life.

On September 6, the Kerns missed matching the Lucky Ball number, which was 6, but matched the other five winning numbers drawn, 4 - 18 - 31 - 39 - 40.  Across New England, 72,957 winning Lucky for Life tickets were purchased on that date; 23,184 were sold in CT alone with prizes ranging from $2 to $25,000.  

Since the “first” Lucky for Life drawing on March 15, 2012, there have been 1,390,591 “lucky” winning tickets sold in CT alone, including two top prize winning tickets, and the number keeps on growing.

“This is really very, very exciting,” said Olivia as she and Gary claimed their prize check for $17,075 (value after taxes) at Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill.  “I’ve always wanted to win Lucky for Life.”  

The Kerns Lucky for Life prize winning ticket was purchased at Oakdale Citgo, located at 75 S. Turnpike Road in Wallingford.