Persistent lotto bettor hits jackpot 10 years later

MANILA, Philippines—Whoever said persistence doesn’t pay? A 48-year-old vendor with eight children finally hit the jackpot after 10 years of placing lotto bets.

Aside from winning half of the P24.05 million jackpot, which he claimed Tuesday from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office headquarters, the man also scored a bonus—he made a believer out of his skeptic wife. “The man shared that his wife had been telling him to stop playing lotto since he had yet to win after 10 years,” PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said in a text message. “But he ignored her and kept on betting [until] he finally hit the jackpot.”

Rojas added that the man said he would invest his winnings in a business to ensure his children’s education. The man chose the winning number combination of 11-16-23-27-29-34 in the 6/45 lotto draw last Monday through the lucky pick method.—Miko Morelos