3 Lottery Wins in 12 months: Cancer Survivor Beats Odds Again

Keypoints Summary

  • 3 lottery wins year: David Serkin wins three times in 12 months
  • Cancer survivor calls the wins โ€œa gift I canโ€™t explainโ€
  • Total winnings now exceed $2.5 million across three state draws
  • Serkin beat stage 4 cancer just two years ago
  • Statisticians call it โ€œnearly impossibleโ€

3 Lottery Wins Year: Cancer Survivor David Serkinโ€™s Unbelievable Streak

Some people dream of winning the lottery once. David Serkin just did it three timesโ€”this year.

Yes, you read that right. The 56-year-old cancer survivor from Albany, New York just hit another jackpot, marking his third major cash win in less than 12 months. His total haul now tops $2.5 million.

This isnโ€™t just luck. This is legendary.

Serkin, who beat stage 4 lymphoma in 2022, says he plays scratch-offs โ€œfor fun, not fortune.โ€ But fortune found him anyway. And it keeps finding him.

His first win came in August 2023. A $1 million instant ticket shocked his local gas station clerk and sent Serkin into a weeklong daze. Then in January 2024, he hit againโ€”this time pulling $750,000 from a Mega Millions second-chance drawing.

Most people would retire. Not Serkin.

He kept working part-time at a community center, kept buying one ticket per week, and kept donating to the cancer ward where he once fought for his life.

And now? Lightning struck again. A $750,000 payday from a Quick Pick ticket matched five numbers in last weekโ€™s state draw.

โ€œI donโ€™t understand it,โ€ Serkin said with tears in his eyes. โ€œI just feel like someone up there is giving me a second, third, and fourth chance.โ€

This story isnโ€™t about money. Itโ€™s about miracles.

And itโ€™s the kind of headline that makes people believe in something more.

How One Survivor Defied the Odds Again and Again

To truly appreciate the magic of these 3 lottery wins, you have to rewind the clock.

David Serkin wasnโ€™t always lucky.

In 2021, he was diagnosed with advanced-stage lymphoma. Doctors gave him a 20% chance of survival. He lost 40 pounds, spent 6 months in chemo, and watched his savings disappear as he fought for his life.

But he never gave up.

He credits his recovery to โ€œfaith, stubbornness, and the nurses who never stopped smiling.โ€

In late 2022, he rang the cancer bell, officially in remission. Life was quiet. Modest. Serkin returned to his part-time job, helped out at his local synagogue, and tried to enjoy the simple things.

Then came the scratch-off that changed everything.

โ€œIt didnโ€™t feel real,โ€ he said. โ€œI thought it was a misprint.โ€

But it wasnโ€™t. And that was just the beginning.

Now, three wins later, Serkinโ€™s story isnโ€™t just rareโ€”itโ€™s practically impossible.

Statisticians estimate the odds of his feat at over 1 in 100 billion. Thatโ€™s rarer than being struck by lightning three times.

But Serkin doesnโ€™t care about math.

He cares about moments. Family. Gratitude.

โ€œI donโ€™t play to get rich,โ€ he said. โ€œI play because Iโ€™m alive to play.โ€

And that mindset may just be the luckiest thing of all.

Community Reacts to Serkinโ€™s Lottery Wins Streak

News of Serkinโ€™s three lottery wins spread like wildfire.

Neighbors, friends, and former cancer ward patients flooded his home with messages of love and congratulations.

The local news station did a full segment titled โ€œThe Man Who Canโ€™t Lose.โ€

And his hometown has unofficially renamed the street outside his house โ€œLucky Laneโ€โ€”complete with homemade signs taped to light poles.

โ€œHe gives us hope,โ€ one neighbor said. โ€œHe didnโ€™t just beat cancerโ€”he keeps winning at life.โ€

At the community center where Serkin still volunteers, staff threw a surprise celebration. They baked a cake shaped like a scratch-off ticket and gave him a golden coin with the words โ€œNever Bet Against a Fighterโ€ engraved on it.

But Serkin isnโ€™t soaking up fame.

Heโ€™s staying grounded.

Heโ€™s already donated $100,000 to a childrenโ€™s cancer research fund. He says he plans to use the rest to secure his retirement, pay off his house, and help his nieces and nephews with college.

โ€œI wonโ€™t buy a yacht,โ€ he said. โ€œBut I might finally fix the squeaky door in my kitchen.โ€

The Math Behind the Madness

So, how rare are three lottery wins in a single year?

We asked Dr. Linda Carver, a professor of statistics at NYU.

โ€œThis isnโ€™t just rareโ€”itโ€™s statistically outrageous,โ€ she said. โ€œYouโ€™re looking at probabilities that stretch into the realm of science fiction.โ€

Carver noted that the average personโ€™s chance of winning a large jackpot once in a lifetime is 1 in 302 million. To do it three times in a year? Multiply that by itself twice.

โ€œYouโ€™d have a better chance of being elected President, writing a bestselling novel, and finding a four-leaf clover on Marsโ€”on the same day,โ€ she joked.

But Carver also added something profound: โ€œSometimes statistics bend for the people whoโ€™ve already bent reality. Survivors see the world differently. Maybe the universe sees them differently too.โ€

That sentiment now hangs on a handmade sign outside Serkinโ€™s door.

Luck, Life, and a Lottery Legacy

The story of David Serkinโ€™s 3 lottery wins isnโ€™t about dollar signs.

Itโ€™s about resilience.

Itโ€™s about a man who faced death, smiled back, and is now smiling all the way to the bankโ€”without losing his soul.

Three wins. One survivor. Countless hearts touched.

David Serkin may be the luckiest man alive.

But ask him, and heโ€™ll say he already won the moment he got to wake up cancer-free.

What David Serkin Is Doing with His Lottery Winnings

Despite scoring three major jackpots in a single year, David Serkin isnโ€™t rushing off to buy a yacht or a mansion. Instead, heโ€™s handling his 3 lottery wins with humility, purpose, and surprising generosity.

According to close friends, Serkin has already put a large portion of his winnings into a secure trust. His first priority? Financial freedom. He paid off his mortgage, eliminated every outstanding debt, and created a savings plan that guarantees heโ€™ll never have to work again if he chooses not to.

But retirement isnโ€™t his goal.

Serkin has continued working part-time at the local community centerโ€”refusing a salary and choosing instead to donate supplies and equipment out of his own pocket. Heโ€™s also established a college fund for his nieces and nephews, and quietly contributed over $100,000 to cancer charities and childrenโ€™s hospitals across the Northeast.

โ€œIโ€™ve had my miracle,โ€ he told reporters. โ€œNow I want to help someone else find theirs.โ€

Beyond that, heโ€™s allowed himself a few modest luxuries. A new Subaru. A renovated kitchen. And, finally, a long-overdue vacation to Hawaiiโ€”his first in 15 years.

But there are no limousines. No designer clothes. No VIP parties.

โ€œMoney doesnโ€™t change who you are,โ€ Serkin said. โ€œIt just gives you the freedom to be more of it.โ€

And judging by his calm, generous nature, Serkin is using his newfound wealth not to flauntโ€”but to heal, to give, and to honor the life he fought so hard to keep.

In a world obsessed with excess, Serkinโ€™s quiet choices make the loudest statement of all.

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