Lottery Lightening Strikes Twice in Kansas

(AP) Edward Williams is the definition of lucky after winning the lottery for a second time in a year.

Williams, 47, of Wichita won $75,000 in September playing a $10 scratch ticket. Then on Wednesday, he defied the odds again when matched all the numbers in the Super Kansas Cash drawing to win a jackpot worth nearly $900,000.

"When I hit $75,000, I figured lighting struck once, it won't ever hit again," Williams said in a prepared statement released by Kansas Lottery officials. "This one knocked me flat!"

He traveled Friday to Topeka to collect his winnings. Super Kansas Cash jackpots are paid in a single cash lump sum. After taxes are withheld, the jackpot is worth $627,541. Also, Yogi's Grill & Bar in Wichita will be eligible for a $1,000 bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.

"When I won the $75,000, I bought a car and put the rest of the winnings into a CD," Williams said. "This time, I'm saving it for retirement, which I hope to do at 55."

Williams, who is single, has worked for almost 17 years ago for Johnson Controls. Before that, he served in the Marines.

He said he has been playing Super Kansas Cash, Powerball and other lottery games consistently for 17 years.

"Just keep on playing," advised Williams, who buys a $5 Quick Pick for every Super Kansas Cash drawing. "That's the best advice I have for other people looking for that big win."

Williams isn't the first repeat lottery winner.

Keith Selix, of Waterloo, Iowa, gained notoriety in 2006 after winning three lottery prizes totaling $81,000.

At the time, he said his fortune mysteriously changed after his wife died, and he was convinced he was being "led from above."

Ironically, Selix's wife had often scolded him for wasting his money on the "those cotton-picking tickets."