Gail's winnings came as a result of two Pick 4 tickets from the July 22 drawing. She purchased her winning tickets at Schnell's SportingCenter on Fourth Street in Marrero. She used her grandchild's birthday when choosing her numbers.

On one ticket, Gail played her numbers twice as "straight" sets, which meant that her numbers had to match the numbers drawn in exact order to win $5,000 per play.  She played the other ticket as a "straight/box" set, which meant that her numbers could match the numbers drawn in any order to win a prize or in exact order to win $2,700.