Old West, West Hartford Store Add up to Big Win in Lottery

ROCKY HILL, CT/July 31, 2018 – Francisco Rios of Hartford said an early episode of a 1958 Western television series, "Bronco," inspired him to play five particular numbers in the CT Lottery's draw game, Cash5, numbers that paid off to the tune of six figures last week.

“It was about a guy who was buried in a glacier for 22 years, 2 months, 18 days, 12 hours and 28 minutes,” Rios said of the TV show. “I said, '22, 2, 18, 12 and 28. That’s five numbers—those are good numbers for Cash5'”

And so it began.

Rios said for the past year-and-a-half, he consistently played Cash5. And on Friday (July 27), his numbers were drawn.

“I was watching the drawing on TV and saw the first numbers were 12, 18, 22, and thought yeah, I won $10 ... and then 22 I got $300. And the final number is 28, and I jumped out of the chair. I never thought I could hit five numbers.”

Rios matched all five of the winning Cash5 drawn on July 27— 2 - 12 - 18 - 22 - 28.

In total, 3,730 winning tickets were sold statewide, with prizes ranging in value from $2 to the $100,000 Rios won.

Rios was easily able to detail how he planned to put his prize to good use.

“I need a better car, one that’s good in the snow," he said. "I’ll share a little bit with family, pay all the bills and save the rest for emergencies.”

The Cash5 winning ticket was purchased at ShopRite, located at 46 Kane St. in West Hartford. ShopRite will receive a $1,000 bonus from the CT Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

The overall odds of winning Cash5 are 1 in 72.1. The chance of winning the top prize is 1 in 324,632.

Photo Credit: CT Lottery

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