'Blind Luck' Strikes Twice In NJ Lottery For Ocean County Couple

TOMS RIVER, NJ — An Ocean County couple has hit million-dollar jackpots twice in six months playing New Jersey Lottery scratch-off games, New Jersey Lottery officials said.

The couple, who lottery officials said chose to stay anonymous, won the $3 million jackpot in the Jackpot Millions game, officials said.

They bought the winning ticket at the Fischer Bay Exxon, 826 Fischer Blvd. in Toms River, officials said. The win comes just over six months after the couple won the $1 million prize in the Ultimate Spectacular.

The odds of winning one of the three top prizes in the $30 Jackpot Millions game is roughly one in 2 million, and the odds of winning the top prize in the Ultimate Spectacular, also a $30 game, are more than one in 1 million.

The odds of winning both? Roughly 1 in 2 trillion, lottery officials said.

"I’ve always said that you only need one ticket to win big," New Jersey Lottery Director James Carey said. "But I guess, in this case two tickets certainly didn’t hurt! This is just pure blind luck."

The Ocean County couple told lottery officials the scratch-offs are a way they relax in the evenings aft they put their children, ages 5 and 11 months, to bed. The wife is five months' pregnant with their third child, they said.

"With our kids, we can’t really get out of the house," the husband said. "So at the beginning of the month, we get some (Scratch-Off) tickets. When the kids go to bed, we scratch a few off. We like to make it a bit of a competition — who can win the most. It seems we at least always break even.”

With the Jackpot Millions, the husband started scratching the card and thought they might’ve won something. He handed it to his wife.

"I looked at it, held it to my chest and screamed," she said.

"Ten seconds later, she’s laughing. This is perfect," the husband said before telling his wife, "Babe, we got luck on our side."

The couple had celebrated after the million-dollar win in April, they said.

"Maybe we celebrated a bit too much," the wife told lottery officials and patted her belly.

While the two prizes will go a long way to allowing the growing family to control their own destiny, lottery officials emphasized they are for entertainment.

"They aren’t to be considered an income source," lottery officials said.