A man who lost his job of 20 years has had true luck in misfortune after he won USD 250,000 on the lottery the same day he was let out from work.

Eric Abbott was shocked when he realised his non-winning scratchcard had earned him USD 250,000 (GBP 196,462) in a random second-chance drawing called ‘Play It Again’.

The grand win had bizarrely happened the same day the man from the city of Lonoke, Arkansas State, USA was dismissed from his job of 20 years on Tuesday, 15th August.

Recalling the moment he found out about the prize, Eric said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Arkansas Lottery: “I woke up around 5am and decided to check my emails.

“I was shocked when I came across a lottery email saying I had won in one of those second-chance drawings!

“I immediately thought it was a scam, so I checked The Club website to see if my name was listed and called the lottery to confirm my win.”

The lucky man said his parents were the first ones he told about the lottery win.

When asked about how he plans to spend the prize, he revealed he will first treat himself with a new car and use the rest to help his family and friends.

He added: “This is truly a blessing, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to help alleviate their financial stress.”

Lottery officials said: “The next Play It Again drawing is anticipated for 26th October for a USD 500,000 [GBP 393,275] lottery prize.

“More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL [Arkansas Scholarship Lottery] revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas.

“Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than USD 1.3 billion [GBP 1 billion] in proceeds for scholarships.

“More than 720,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans.

“The lottery has awarded more than USD 4.6 billion [GBP 3.6 billion] in prizes to players, about USD 389 million [GBP 306 million] in retailer commissions, and provided more than USD 167 million [GBP 131 million] in state and federal tax revenue.”