Rosa couldn't believe it when he confirmed that his Friday, July 5, Cash5 ticket numbers were an exact match to the winning number.
And it's no wonder. It was the second time in just over a year that Rosa beat the odds and won the Cash5 top prize playing his own numbers, Connecticut Lottery officials said.
Of the 4,000 winning tickets sold statewide, only Rosa’s had all five winning numbers to win $100,000. His numbers were 4 - 16 - 17 - 23 - 33.
After Rosa's first win occurred on April 27, 2018, he continued to play Cash5 based on a tip passed on by his father-in-law.
"He told me to play the same numbers I won on before, but by one digit lower. I played the first three numbers that way. I messed up the fourth number (23), because I didn't have my glasses on, and decided to play the last number the same as before," Rosa said.
After the Cash5 drawing occurred Saturday night, Rosa looked at the Lottery's website and saw there was one top prize winner.
"The winning numbers looked familiar, but I was too lazy to get out of bed to check my ticket," Rosa said with a laugh. "The next morning, I checked my ticket and that's when I knew it was a match."
He arrived to pick up his winnings with a few friends and his son-in-law, who he planned to treat to lunch.
Rosa's Cash5 winning ticket was purchased at High Ridge Convenience Service at 910 High Ridge Road, Stamford.
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