Some people dream of winning the lottery, carefully selecting their numbers or scratching their tickets with fingers crossed. Others? Well, they win by pure accident. That’s exactly what happened to Carrollton resident Kelly Lindsay, whose life changed overnight—all because of a mix-up at a gas station.
It all started when Kelly stopped at a Race Way gas station in Carrollton, Virginia, intending to buy a specific scratch card. She paid, took her ticket, and headed to the parking lot to see if luck was on her side. But as she examined the ticket, she realized something was off—it wasn’t the one she had asked for.
Frustration bubbled up. After all, when you’re buying a lottery ticket, you have a certain game in mind, and a mistake like this can be frustrating. But instead of going back inside to exchange it, Kelly decided to scratch the ticket anyway. And that’s when everything changed.
As the numbers and symbols revealed themselves, so did her fate. What started as a small inconvenience turned into the surprise of a lifetime—the ticket showed that she had just won a staggering $2,000,000 jackpot.
Suddenly, any annoyance about the ticket mix-up vanished. Speaking after her unexpected windfall, Kelly laughed, saying, “I got over not being happy about it!”
And really, who wouldn’t? If a simple mistake at the cash register came with a multi-million-dollar reward, most of us would probably take it in stride too.
The Virginia Lottery later confirmed her win and explained that Kelly had two choices: she could either receive the full $2 million in annual payments over 30 years or opt for a one-time lump sum of $1,250,000 before taxes. She ultimately decided to go for the lump sum, securing her fortune all at once.
For those wondering just how lucky Kelly was, the Virginia Lottery shared that the odds of winning the top prize in this game were 1 in 1,142,400. The odds of winning any prize at all? 1 in 3.29—so while winning something is possible, hitting the jackpot is a whole different story.
Kelly isn’t the only one whose fortune came from an unexpected mistake. A similar twist of fate happened to Tayeb Souami in 2018, proving that sometimes, life-changing moments happen when you least expect them.
Tayeb and his wife were struggling financially, trying to cut unnecessary expenses. One day, his wife sent him to return a $5 bottle of orange juice, calling it too expensive and telling him to find something cheaper. Tayeb obliged, but instead of picking out another drink, he impulsively purchased two Powerball lottery tickets.
Then, life got busy, and he forgot all about the tickets. The next day, while going through his pockets, he remembered them and decided to check his numbers. One was a dud—but the other? That one changed his life forever.
When he scanned the ticket at a store’s lottery machine, it directed him to see the retailer—a sign that something big had happened. And when he did, he was met with the shocking news: he had won an unbelievable $315,000,000.
The life-altering win meant that Tayeb could pay off debts, secure his children’s education, and finally breathe a sigh of relief. Speaking after his victory, he humorously added, “This makes me love orange juice.” And honestly, who wouldn’t feel the same?
These stories prove that luck doesn’t always come in predictable ways. Sometimes, it sneaks up on you when you’re just running errands, making a return, or even dealing with a simple mix-up at a gas station. One thing’s for sure—Kelly Lindsay and Tayeb Souami will never look at scratch cards or orange juice the same way again.
