Cancer survivor defies 1-in-33 million odds — buys 4 lottery tickets and wins them all

David Serkin of Lethbridge, Alberta, walked into a Shell station to fill up his gas tank and walked out a millionaire. The retired cancer survivor recently won $1 million in the May 3 LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball draw, marking the fourth time in his life he’s claimed a lottery jackpot. The odds of this happening are nearly impossible, but Serkin’s calm reaction says more about his outlook than it does about his luck.

"I know the odds are astronomical. I don’t think it’ll happen again, but I still like buying tickets," he said in a statement released by the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. The May win came just months after two other major payouts, $500,000 from a LOTTO MAX ticket on August 20, followed by a $1 million prize from the November 16 LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball draw. That run alone would be enough to shock anyone, but Serkin’s luck stretches back further. More than a decade ago, he also won $250,000 in an earlier lottery draw, his first jackpot, and the beginning of what would become an almost unbelievable streak.

Still, Serkin doesn’t approach the game like someone chasing a miracle. He’s been playing the lottery since 1982 — the year LOTTO 6/49 was first introduced — and says it’s simply a small joy he’s always carried with him. "You check your ticket, and if you win, you’re happy. If you don’t, you can always try again," he said. That consistency has paid off, literally, but his perspective comes from somewhere deeper. "I’m a cancer survivor and I’m retired. So I am just grateful for all of it," he said. According to lottery officials, the odds of winning just one of these draws can be as slim as 1 in 33.3 million, as reported by The Guardian.

Serkin’s August 20 win alone had those odds. To win four times, across different draws and years, falls well outside what statisticians would consider likely. But Serkin said his latest winning ticket wasn’t planned, he simply bought it while buying gas, figuring, "What do I have to lose?" When he told his friends over coffee, their response was disbelief. "Not again?!" they said, according to Serkin. His wife had a similar reaction. But disbelief quickly turned into celebration — something the couple has practiced before. "I took my wife to Hawaii with the last win, and we had a great time. Now, we’re going to Newfoundland," he said.

Serkin’s four jackpots: $250,000 more than a decade ago, $500,000 in August 2024, $1 million in November 2024, and $1 million again in May 2025, total approximately $2.75 million in prize money. While Serkin has defied the odds repeatedly, millions of others play for years without winning even once, yet they continue. That question — why keep playing when the odds are so steep — is something researchers have tried to answer.

In a study on behavioral economics from Stanford University, experts explored how cognitive biases can shape lottery behavior. One key concept is the "near-miss fallacy," where a person who almost wins begins to believe they’re getting closer to success, even if the outcome is purely random. As the researchers explain, people "think a losing ticket that was almost right gives them more hope than they should rationally have." That false sense of proximity reinforces the decision to try again, even when the mathematical odds remain unchanged.