Ft. Riley Soldier Wins $22,000 Playing 2by2
Michael Smith of Junction City
considers himself pretty lucky at lottery games, and for good
reason! He and his wife Christina matched all four numbers in
the December 30 2by2 drawing and won a top prize of $22,000.
The lucky numbers were Red 8 and 23 and White 6 and 20.
Smith, a staff sergeant who has
been stationed at Ft. Riley since March, says he won quite a few
prizes playing the lottery in his home state of North Carolina, but
nothing like what he won yesterday here in Kansas!
"Christina and I have been
playing the same numbers on 2by2 for a couple of weeks now," Smith
explained. "Christina picked them, and they're a combination of
family birthdays and anniversaries. The numbers we won on are
her grandfather's and little sister's birthdays."
The Smiths checked their numbers
on the Kansas Lottery website last night. The first thing
they did, after jumping up and down, was to make sure Michael
signed the back of the ticket. Then they endured a sleepless
night, as they excitedly looked forward to driving to Topeka today
to claim the ticket.
"We really do feel like we're
lucky people," they said. "I think we might be back here to claim
another big prize in the future."
In the meantime, the Smiths will
enjoy one of their best New Year's Eves since being married three
years ago. They're also looking to the future and say they
will spend some of their prize money on a cruise next
year.
Smith purchased the lucky ticket
where he buys all his lottery tickets - Handy's 3, located at 1839
N. Washington in Junction City.