An anonymous woman has been awarded a prize from the Missouri Lottery after playing the same numbers that she has tried her luck with for four decades.
The lucky winner, from Pulaski County, used the exact nine numbers that were matched on her 9-spot ticket, according to the Missouri Lottery's news release.
The winner's son checked the ticket at the retail store and was shocked when the clerk told him she was unable to cash the ticket, the release said.
"She said, ‘Give me your phone,’" the winner told the Missouri Lottery, recounting her son’s interaction with the clerk.
"So he gave her the phone, and she took a picture of it and said, ‘This is what your mom won, and that’s why we can’t pay her!’" the winner told lottery officials, explaining why she couldn’t cash out in-store.
Her son left the store and immediately called her, unable to hold back the news that she was $80,000 richer.
The winner has decided that her earnings will go towards purchasing a new car, she told lottery officials.