Kansas – Gary Shipley, 67, of Hoxie is a man who stays the course. Case in point – he’s been playing the same four numbers in every 2by2 drawing for four or five years.
“My thought was that eventually they have to get hit. I might be 130 years old before that happens, but they’re going to get hit,” Shipley said with a laugh.
Turns out he was right, and he didn’t have to wait until he was 130! Using the numbers he always plays, Shipley matched all four numbers in the March 5 2by2 drawing – Red 12 and 25 and White 14 and 18 – and won himself a $22,000 top prize.
“I was very lucky,” said the big winner. Lottery officials were curious how Shipley had picked his 2by2 numbers to start with. Birthdays? Anniversaries? The number of spots on his dog? Answer: none of the above!
“Frequency charts, that’s where I got the numbers,” Shipley disclosed.
The Kansas Lottery provides “Frequency Charts” for draw games on its website and also in the Lotto News publication. The charts show how many times each number has been drawn in each game. Shipley said he studied the 2by2 Frequency Chart and then picked numbers that were among those drawn most frequently.
In addition to 2by2, Shipley plays Powerball, Mega Millions, Super Kansas Cash, Lotto America and Lucky for Life using the same numbers he picked years ago for each of those games. On March 5 when he won $22,000 playing 2by2, Shipley also won $200 on his Lucky for Life ticket.
“I feel fortunate,” he said. “I hope it happens again!” Shipley and his wife Roberta said they recently bought a house in Hoxie and will use the prize money to build a garage.
The lucky $22,000 2by2 ticket was purchased at Hoxie Stop 2 Shop, located at 1017 Oak Avenue in Hoxie.