There are some stories of love and luck when weddings and Powerball winners come together.
If you ask most Americans what day changed them forever, you’ll likely get at least two answers. Some might say it was the day they got married, and others might say it was the day they won the Powerball. But it might be news to you to learn that for some Powerball winners, getting married was part of the celebration, or that getting hitched and winning big were one and the same for them. And today, we’ll share a few stories of love and luck with Powerball winners and weddings.
1. The Dream Wedding & Honeymoon Upgrade
A young Vanceboro, NC couple would be getting married in a few days, and they were busy making last-minute plans in preparation for their big day. Genia Mangum said her then-fiance stopped by the local Food Lion grocery store for a few things. He bought a quick pick Powerball ticket while he was there. To the couple’s surprise, that Powerball ticket was a winner worth $50,000. Genia Mangum told the local press the newfound winnings would make their wedding extra special. Instead of driving to Charleston for a Honeymoon weekend, the couple would now be flying to Las Vegas for the ultimate dream honeymoon experience.
2. Killing Time Before the Wedding Dinner
Mike Hanley wasn’t getting married. But he was, in fact, attending a wedding in Perry, Michigan, in which his wife was a bridesmaid. Hanley was sitting alone before dinner, waiting for the wedding party to finish pictures and make their grand entrances. To kill time, he hopped on his phone to browse the internet. It was then he saw an ad for Powerball and decided to go ahead and buy a ticket online. The jackpot was pretty high, and Hanley didn’t have anything else going on at the time, so it made sense. When Hanley checked his numbers the next day, killing time at the wedding proved to be good luck timing. He matched four white balls and won $100,000.
3. Enough to Pay for His Daughter’s Big Wedding
A Waldorf, MD man had been playing Powerball for years. And he finally hit it big with his $50,000 jackpot back in 2018. The father of two told local reporters that he and his wife checked the numbers five or six times out of disbelief. And while he did say he planned to help his grown children pay down some student loans, he was mostly excited about funding his daughter’s upcoming wedding.
4. How ‘I Won’ Turned into ‘I Do’
One Powerball winner last December struck it big with his online ticket purchase. When the SMS notification came through that he had won, he couldn’t believe his million-dollar luck. Once he realized he wasn’t dreaming, he told news outlets that he planned to use his jackpot to marry “the love of my life and mother of my children and spoil her.” He also shared plans to add on to his house and remodel, as well.
5. The Wedding Anniversary Party Win
A husband and wife chose to remain anonymous after their Powerball win. But their story is still one of love and luck. The woman shared that she normally played Powerball. And this particular day, she didn’t realize that her husband had also decided to play with tickets of his own. It was one of his tickets that proved to be worth $1 million. The wife told reporters she planned to make the couple’s upcoming wedding anniversary a celebration to remember with some of the jackpot winnings.
Love and luck may not always go hand-in-hand. But in these tales of Powerball winners and weddings, the two certainly make for a life-changing experience.