A bizarre punter has pocketed USD 100,000 after buying 20 identical winning lottery tickets that earned him USD 5,000 each.

Fekru Hirpo – from Alexandria, the US state of Virginia – told lotto officials that he does not usually buy so many tickets but “something just told him to do it”.

So he bought 20 tickets with the same numbers – 2-5-2-7 – and was stunned when they all netted him the ‘Pick 4’ draw’s top prize of USD 5,000 (GBP 4,000).

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Virginia Lottery on Wednesday, 5th April, saying: “When Fekru Hirpo of Alexandria won the top prize in the Virginia Lottery’s March 8 Pick 4 night drawing, he didn’t have just one winning ticket – he had 20.

“Each ticket had the same four-digit combination: 2-5-2-7.”

“The top prize in the Pick 4 game is USD 5,000. So, with 20 winning tickets, he won a total of USD 100,000 in a single drawing.”

The statement went on: “Mr Hirpo told Lottery officials he doesn’t usually play with so many tickets containing identical numbers, but something just told him to do it.

“He said he has no immediate plans for his winnings.”