In April 2023, Mark Clark, a middle-aged man living in Springfield, Massachusetts, was surprised when he won two $1 million lottery prizes — and what was even more bizarre was that both winning tickets were purchased on the same day.

Mark said he doesn’t usually play scratch-off tickets every day, but on his way to work that day, he stopped at a familiar convenience store and bought a “$10 Million Bonus Wins” scratch-off ticket. He scratched it off on the spot and was shocked to see that he had won $1 million. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he had to sit in his car for 10 minutes to calm down.

But the surprise didn’t stop there. In a good mood, Mark decided to stop by another convenience store five miles away, as a “little celebration.” He bought another scratch-off ticket — the same one — and this time, luck was on his side: another $1 million prize.

The Massachusetts Lottery confirmed that the event was real and extremely rare, with a lower probability of happening than being struck by lightning twice in a lifetime. “We’ve had people win twice, but never two big prizes like this within hours of each other,” a representative said.

Mark chose to receive the money in a lump sum, leaving him with about $1.3 million after taxes. When asked what he would do with the money, Mark laughed and said: “I’m going to pay off my debt, take my family on vacation, and… not buy lottery tickets for a while!”