How 26,000 fans of Lost actually WON by copying the lottery numbers used in TV series to cash in on Mega Millions draw



Lucky numbers: Almost 26,000 punters who used the same lottery numbers as Jorge Garcia's character Hurley in Lost were rewarded with a win of $150 each in the Mega Millions draw

Fans of the hit TV series Lost have even more reason to like the show after the draw of the Mega Millions lottery.

Almost 26,000 fans won $150 each by playing the lottery numbers used by a character in the long-running ABC show.

Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes won $114m with the numbers 4,8,15,16,23 and 42. As it turned out, the win didn’t bring the fictional character, played by actor Jorge Garcia, much luck.



But the punters collecting their cash today weren’t complaining after getting so close to winning the massive $355 million payout by getting four out of the six numbers.



In an eerie echo from the show, the real-life lotto numbers even came out in the same order – 4,8,15,25,47 and 42.



In Lost, the series of six numbers followed Hurley through his adventures, popping up in various contexts with other characters.



Towards the end of the series, for example, they were found written inside a cave with castaways’ names corresponding to different numbers. John Locke was 4, Hurely was 8, Sawyer was 15, Sayid was 16, Jack was 23, and Kwon was 42.



The show’s co-creator Damon Lindelhof celebrated the coincidence on his Twitter account, although he underestimated the number of winners.



He tweeted: ‘9,078 people played Hurley’s numbers in the Mega Millions tonight, each winning $150. #THATSSORAVEN.’

Lottery bosses actually put the figure at 25,587 tickets matched the three winning numbers plus the bonus number to win $150.



There were two big winners who got all the right numbers. One of the tickets was sold at a Safeway supermarket in the eastern Washington town of Ephrata, and the other one went to a lucky Idaho resident.



Wait your turn: Hundreds of people queue to buy a Mega Millions lottery ticket carrying the chance to win $355m in Primm, Nevada

Before the big draw hundreds of people were spotted standing in line in Prim, Nevada, shuffling forward every few minutes.

The unbelievably long human chain was waiting for the chance to buy a ticket for the Mega Millions lottery.

Similar scenes were repeated around the country but in Nevada, one of the states worst hit by the U.S. economic meltdown, the human processions stretched as far as the eye could see.

Nevada has the highest rate of unemployment in the whole of America, at more than 14%.



The gamblers were from all walks of life, some even quite well-dressed, but the desire to win and escape the entrapments of the recession united them all.



Gamblers from all walks: The jackpot represented the fourth largest in U.S. history

Thousands of people queued for hours in 41 states and the capital Washington D.C. ahead of the draw last night.

The interest was so high that the company was forced to cut back its website to deal with massively increased traffic.

Tiny Arizona towns including Littlefield and Beaver Dam were flooded with people from Utah and other states where Mega Millions tickets are not sold.

At Rosie's Cafe on U.S. 93 north of Kingman on the Nevada state line, hundreds drove in over the weekend to buy their tickets.

Keeping calm: The California Highway patrol stands watch as hundreds of people wait in line to purchase tickets

In the Mega Millions game, players try to win by matching five numbers as well as the 'Mega ball'. Tickets cost just $1.

The 'Mega ball' is picked from a separate machine and can be the same number as one already taken in the main draw.

Two people have become overnight multi-millionaires after winning $177.5million in one of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.

The holy grail: Interest in Mega Millions was forced to cut back its website to cope with demand

The prize is the fourth largest ever in the U.S. and the second-largest in Mega Millions history.

But unfortunatlely for all those who spent the best part of a day queuing at the overworked outlet in Primm, Nevada, the winners came from other states.

Mega Millions said the holders of one ticket sold in Idaho and another in Washington state will share the $355million jackpot.

The odds of winning the jackpot were one in 175,711,536.

Front of the queue: At last, queuers are able to buy their tickets

Mega Millions was expanded last year under a cross-selling agreement with the multi-state Powerball lottery to become available in 41 states across the U.S.

The biggest ever lottery win in the U.S. was $390million given out in March 2007.