Same numbers in a different order win Ohio couple two lottery prizes

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- An Ohio couple who didn't realize they had bought two tickets with the same numbers for a single Pick 5 lottery drawing ended up winning a total $25,625.50.

Randy and Tanya Metzger told Ohio Lottery officials they were so excited to realize one of their tickets had scored a $417 prize in the Dec. 3 evening Pick 5 drawing that they didn't even look at their other tickets.

Randy Metzger took the tickets to Speedway on Harding Way in Galion to cash them in and was shocked when he scanned a second ticket for the same drawing.

"It said, '$25,208.50' and I go, 'What?' and then I look and thought, 'Those are the same numbers,'" he said.

Both tickets had the same set of numbers, but in a different order. The couple ended up winning a total $25,625.50 from the drawing.

The couple said their winnings will go toward paying off their car and making an extra-merry Christmas.