Man wins $1M after playing same numbers for 20 years

URBANDALE, Iowa, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Rob Winburn won $1 million in Iowa's lottery with the same numbers he has played for the last 20 years.

Winburn's secret is that he plays the numbers corresponding to the letters in his last name. The odds of winning the $1 million jackpot are 1 in 5,153,632.65, and Winburn says prior to this he had never won more than $100 dollars with his set of numbers.

"I did a double-take," Winburn said of the moment he realized he had he won, "and told the guy next to me, 'I don't believe this,' and he leaned over and I did it again and he said, 'Sign it and get the hell out of here.'"

If Winburn had matched the Powerball by having a "3" in place of the "18", he would have won the $330 million jackpot.

[Newsy]