Connecticut man credits forgetfulness for $200,000 lottery win

July 5 (UPI) -- A Connecticut man said his poor memory paid off when he accidentally bought two lottery tickets and doubled his prize to $100,000.

John Smedick, Jr. of Torrington, told Connecticut Lottery officials he couldn't remember whether he had purchased a Cash 5 ticket for the June 29 drawing, so he went to the store and bought a ticket with the same numbers he always plays, which represent his wedding date and family birthdays.

Smedick said it was his daughter who noticed the next day that he had two identical Cash 5 tickets bearing the numbers 5-19-27-30-35, which turned out to be the winning numbers in the Friday night drawing.

"It turns out I played it, forgot I played it, and played it again," Smedick said. "My daughter went to the lottery's website and saw there were two $100,000 winning Cash5 tickets. Both of them were mine -- I won $200,000. It was the best mistake I ever made."

"We've never won this much...this is amazing! I'm going to pay off the bills, take my wife and children on a mini vacation, and put the rest of the money in the bank," Smedick said.