Using her deceased mother’s numbers, a woman won the lotto, but she lost her winning ticket and had to sift through the trash to recover it.
Prior to the 65-year-passing old’s last year, Kelly Firth, age 44, would purchase her mother Carol’s weekly Lotto Hotpicks tickets from a shop in west Halifax.
Kelly did not play the lotto, but after discovering her mother’s numbers, 7, 17, and 37, written on a card while cleaning out her apartment, she decided to play them at the stores.
She purchased numbers for Wednesday and Saturday, but when they did not win on the first draw, she tore up the ticket and discarded it.
Nevertheless, she was shocked when three numbers appeared in the weekend lottery.
Kelly believed it was a sign from her mother and was celebrating and shouting to Carol’s ashes when her mother’s favorite Tina Turner song, “You’re Simply the Best,” played on the radio.
Kelly, a grandmother of four, had to rummage through the apartment’s shared trash cans to piece together her abandoned tickets.
She utilized her £1,600 reward to send her family on a vacation to Blackpool after the store accepted the spliced-together ticket.
Kelly Firth (right) was ecstatic when she discovered her late mother Carol’s (left) regular lotto numbers and decided to play them.
Kelly, 44, won over £1,500 by using the same numbers as her mother prior to her passing in 2021.
Kelly discovered her mother Carol’s (above) numbers 7, 17, and 37 written on a card while emptying out her apartment months after her death and chose to play them.
Dedicated mother of two Kelly from west Halifax exclaimed, “I still can’t believe I won using my mother’s numbers.”
My daughter and I would run to the store every week to buy lotto tickets for our mother.
She gave me a small card with the identical numbers on both sides and instructed me to place both sides on the numbers.
We played the same numbers for mom for years, but she never, ever won.
I decided to continue them in memory of my mother.
I went to my local store approximately two months after her passing to purchase two Lotto Hotpicks tickets for the Wednesday and Saturday drawings.
“I couldn’t believe I won when my mother never did, but I knew she was still looking out for me when the numbers were called.”
“I’m still in shock and will always be. It was a sign from my mother, which I still cannot believe.
Carol, who had numerous health problems, passed away in May of 2021.
She played the numbers 7, 17, and 37 every week, allowing the machine at the store to create the final number of the five-digit ticket.
Carol would repeat this process twice, generating two virtually identical sets of numbers, and enter them for the Wednesday and Saturday drawings.
Kelly celebrated her victory by shouting to her mother’s ashes on her TV stand (shown) as Tina Turner’s ‘You’re Simply the Best’ played on the radio, which was her mother’s favorite song.
Kelly said the wins were used on a family vacation to Blackpool, and she feels her mother would have been thrilled to hear her numbers had given happiness to others.
Kelly claimed, “While watching television on Saturday night, I recognized my mother’s numbers, but I had already torn up and discarded the tickets.”
“My heart sank.” I was ecstatic one moment, telling my mother that we had won and that I knew she was nearby because she knew I needed this, then panicked the next.
“I’d just put out my black bin, so I jumped into the large bin outside, pulled out every black bin liner, and combed through each one until I located the tickets, which luckily still had their barcodes intact.
“As I yelled to my mother that we had won, I turned on the radio to celebrate, which was playing her favorite song, which I had played at her funeral.
It simply confirmed that mother was still present. I was unable to believe it.
Kelly brought her torn tickets to her neighborhood store, where an employee helped her reassemble them before handing over the cash.
She used the wins to fund a holiday to Blackpool with her family and believes her mum would have been pleased to learn that her numbers had brought happiness.
Kelly stated, “I took my small family to Blackpool with the winnings: my daughter Demi, age 26, and my four grandchildren Harley, age 10, Coby Jay, age 8, Addison Rio, age 5, and Kylan, age 4.”
“My mother adored Blackpool, and I am certain that it would have meant a great deal to her that her numbers helped us create some memorable moments.
I miss my mother every day, and I can’t believe her numbers brought us such good fortune. It felt as if she were still present.
Certainly, she was looking down on us. I only knew that she was still alive and caring for her family.