Mass. Man Wins Lottery...Again

NORTH ABINGTON, Mass. -- If Richard Ransom comes into your store to play the lottery, pay close attention to his numbers -- he may be on to something.

Ransom, of North Abington, won a bonus drawing for previous winners at the state Lottery headquarters in Braintree, Mass. winning another $3 million jackpot on as $5 ticket.

In March 1999, Ransom bought a Fast Millions instant game ticket at a Tedeschi convenience store in Abington. He won $1.2 million -- along with the chance to win in a second, bonus drawing that was held Wednesday.

All told there were 30 winners of the Fast Millions game before it was phased out. Each was on hand earlier this week to try their luck again.

Ransom, a 64-year-old retired carpenter, had a 1-in-30 chance of winning the bonus jackpot. To determine his bonus prize amount, Ransom was asked to choose a number from 1 through 10 and a color, purple or yellow, on the Fast Millions wheel.

Since the number 22 had brought him luck so far, Ransom selected the number 2 and the color purple. "I had to pick the number 2," he told the Patriot (Mass.) Ledger. "I have two boys, two girls and two grandchildren."

Ransom would have won $10 million for matching the number and color; $5 million for matching only the number; or $2 million even if he'd had no match. When the wheel rolled to a stop, however, the ball landed on 5 purple, netting him $3 million for matching the correct color.

The $3 million prize will be paid out in annual installments of $150,000 for 20 years, said Lottery spokeswoman Shannon Cadres.