SIKESTON -- Having children is a milestone in every parent's life. Thirty-one years after the birth of one of her children in 1986, Lavette Hatcher of Sikeston has a new milestone to celebrate thanks, in part, to her son.
"I have two children, and I just always play the year they were born on Pick 4. That's how I won," said Hatcher, who won $24,500 on the Missouri Lottery's Pick 4 Draw Game.
Hatcher picked her own numbers -- 1, 9, 8 and 6 -- when purchasing six tickets for the Oct. 22 Pick 4 evening draw from New Gas & Goodies, 1207 W. Malone Street, in Sikeston. All four of Hatcher's numbers were drawn later that evening.
"I jumped up out of bed," said Hatcher, who found the winning numbers at MOLottery.com. "I was asleep and half-broken because of the numbers and because we had just finished some Christmas shopping."
Two of Hatcher's tickets were for "Straight" plays, both awarding $6,000 for matching all four numbers in exact order. The remaining four tickets were "Straight/Box" plays, each of which Hatcher won $3,125 for matching each number in exact order.
Hatcher immediately notified her son about the win, who insisted on accompanying Hatcher to the Lottery's St. Louis regional office the following morning to claim the prize. The Sikeston resident doesn't think her win will cause a sibling rivalry, though, saying that she will continue playing both her children's birthday numbers in hopes of winning again in the future.
"I play the Pick 3, too. I play the days that they were born on that one," said Hatcher.
Even though she had just completed her early Christmas shopping prior to winning the $24,500 prize, Hatcher plans to make a few more purchases with the prize in addition to paying some bills.
Pick 4 is 50 cents or $1 per play and has an average of 130 winners per draw. Players can win from $30 to $6,000 on a $1 play by matching a wide variety of numbers and combinations.