This wasn't the one-in-a-million strike a Kansas lotto player was hoping for.
A Wichita man was hit by lightning on Thursday night just hours after buying three tickets in the record-setting $656 Mega Millions lottery, drawn on Friday.
Bill Isles, a volunteer storm spotter for the National Weather Service, even made an eerie quip to a pal about his long odds moments after buying the tickets at a local grocery store.
"I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightning" than winning the jackpot, Isles said, according to Reuters.
The wannabe mega-millionaire had toted his ham radio into his backyard to check for storm activity at around 9:30 p.m. when a towering bolt of lightning slammed into the ground nearby.
"It threw me to the ground quivering," Isles, 48, told Reuters. "It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat.
A Wichita man was hit by lightning on Thursday night just hours after buying three tickets in the record-setting $656 Mega Millions lottery, drawn on Friday.
Bill Isles, a volunteer storm spotter for the National Weather Service, even made an eerie quip to a pal about his long odds moments after buying the tickets at a local grocery store.
"I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightning" than winning the jackpot, Isles said, according to Reuters.
The wannabe mega-millionaire had toted his ham radio into his backyard to check for storm activity at around 9:30 p.m. when a towering bolt of lightning slammed into the ground nearby.
"It threw me to the ground quivering," Isles, 48, told Reuters. "It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat.
The shell-shocked weather watcher managed to radio other storm spotters about the strike, and was soon rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
Luckily, he didn't suffer any burns or other serious injuries.
"But for the grace of God, I would have been dead," Isles said. "It was not a direct strike."
Isles lost his job at a furniture store in June, and said the bad omen wouldn't stop him from playing the lottery next time.
"The next time I will use the radio while sitting in the car," he said.
Mega Millions officials said the odds of winning Friday's giant jackpot were around 176 million to one.
One lucky ticket holder in Kansas hit the jackpot — it was not Isles — along with two others in Illinois and Maryland.
National Weather Service numbers say the odds of getting hit by lightning are around 775,000 to one, depending on the season.
Luckily, he didn't suffer any burns or other serious injuries.
"But for the grace of God, I would have been dead," Isles said. "It was not a direct strike."
Isles lost his job at a furniture store in June, and said the bad omen wouldn't stop him from playing the lottery next time.
"The next time I will use the radio while sitting in the car," he said.
Mega Millions officials said the odds of winning Friday's giant jackpot were around 176 million to one.
One lucky ticket holder in Kansas hit the jackpot — it was not Isles — along with two others in Illinois and Maryland.
National Weather Service numbers say the odds of getting hit by lightning are around 775,000 to one, depending on the season.
