North Carolina Man Wins Lottery In Unusual Way
Call it blind luck. A North Carolina man says he closed his eyes, picked some lottery numbers, and won $160,565. His odds of winning were 1 in 962,598. I have a few questions about this story.
First of all, the man’s name is Stanley Manley. That sounds made up, like a character in a children’s book, but I suppose it’s possible.
Stanley Manley told North Carolina Education Lottery officials he just had a “lucky feeling” on the day that he bought a Cash 5 ticket at the Bert Ammond Country Cafe in Pleasant Hill, NC. For some reason, there doesn’t seem to be any listing for that business online. Hmm…
Stanley Manley said he usually uses his lucky numbers to play the lottery, but this time he decided to try a different strategy. If he had a “lucky feeling,” why didn’t he use his “lucky numbers?”
Instead, Stanley Manley closed his eyes and put the pencil on the paper until he had the numbers he needed. Wherever the pencil landed, those were the numbers he used. He might as well have used an Ouija board.
Stanley Manley said he put the ticket in his pocket and forgot about it until two days after the July 29th drawing. Why do so many lottery winners say the same thing? It sounds like a humblebrag. Does anyone ever really forget they bought a lottery ticket? I never do. It might be worth millions!
After taxes, Stanley Manley took home $113,621. He says he’ll pay some bills and put the rest in savings. That sounds very sensible. Almost too sensible.
Here’s another fun fact about Stanley Manley: he lives in Littleton, NC. The tiny Halifax County town is also home to The Cryptozoology & Paranormal Museum. Something about this whole story feels a bit paranormal.
This is the real question I have: Do you think I could get Stanley Manley to blindly pick a few lottery numbers for me?