Man buys lottery ticket while wearing shirt inside-out. ‘Turned out to be good luck’

When Kevin Tome gets ready for the day, it’s still dark outside.

That’s why the 53-year-old Pennsylvania dad didn’t notice he had put his shirt on inside-out before leaving home.

And it wasn’t until he bought a Match 6 lottery ticket that he realized his mistake, according to an Aug. 8 news release from the Pennsylvania Lottery.

“When I bought the ticket, the lady at the counter said, ‘You know your shirt is on the wrong way,’” Tome recalled to Pennsylvania Lottery officials.

And while he didn’t know it at the time, that inside-out shirt might have been his lucky charm, according to the release.

He had won big during the June 20 evening drawing — but he didn’t learn about his life-changing news until after a co-worker asked him a question the next day.

“My co-worker asked me, ‘Don’t you play Match 6?’ I said, ‘Yes, I do,’” Tome told lottery officials. “He said, ‘Well there was a winning ticket sold in Youngsville, you may want to check your ticket.’”

Tome waited until his lunch break, then he headed to his car to check his ticket, according to the release.

“My numbers matched! I was shaking!” Tome recalled.

It appeared he had won the $1.86 million Match 6 jackpot. But he wasn’t sure if he could believe his eyes.

“I asked my co-worker to look at the ticket and he said, ‘Holy cow you won!’” Tome told lottery officials. “I told my boss I had to leave and went home to tell my wife. She started screaming!”

Now, Tome thinks his shirt mishap “turned out to be good luck,” according to the release.

“Advice I have for other players out there is you have to play to win, and wear your shirt inside out, it might be your lucky charm,” he said.

Tome plans to use some of his winnings to buy a new car and help his two daughters with college tuition, officials said.

The winning ticket was sold at Brokenstraw Beverage Inc. in Youngsville, about 140 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Man buys lottery ticket while wearing shirt inside-out. ‘Turned out to be good luck’."