‘World's luckiest man’ was dead for 14 minutes, then he came back and won the lottery twice
A man from Melbourne Australia was dubbed as the luckiest man alive after he cheated death and won the lottery twice. Bill Morgan, who worked as a trucker was declared dead for 14 minutes, before he came back to life. Feeling lucky, he tried his luck and won a lottery which led to another mega win, and it was all caught on camera on live TV. The series of wins nearly set Morgan up for life and made him a viral sensation decades later.
The story of the luckiest man in the world
Mogan's video of winning the lottery on TV has resurfaced several times on social media. In an telephonic interview with Studio10 Australia, Morgan shared that his health deteriorated after a freak accident while working for his trucking company.
Then he had another horror car crash in 1998, in which he suffered a heart attack, and went into a coma and the doctors declared the Aussie "clinically dead" for about 15 minutes. However, Morgan miraculously woke up 14 days later and was dubbed as a 'medical miracle', as per the Daily Mail Australia.
Feeling like his return from the dead had a deeper meaning, Morgan decided to test his luck. He proposed to his girlfriend who said yes, and a year later he tried his luck at a lottery and won a $17,000 Toyota Corolla. His amazing return from the dead and lottery win caught the attention of the local press and Morgan was soon asked to appear on TV.
Nine's evening news in Melbourne asked Morgan to re-enact his winning moment. A camera crew followed Morgan going into a store to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket.
In the footage, Morgan is seen buying the ticket and scratching it off on the counter. To everyone's surprise, the scratch card he had purchased for the act also ended up being a winner. Morgan held the ticket out to the news crew saying, "I just won AUD250,000 ( ~$170,000) - I'm not joking."
He could be seen shaking with his hand on his head. "I think I'll have another heart attack," he adds. He calls his fiance to tell her about the win and asks her to go on and buy a new house. Shortly afterward, staff at the news agency popped a bottle of champagne in celebration to mark one of the greatest strokes of luck.
The extraordinary win and the subsequent call to his fiancee were shown on Nine's evening news. From there, other outlets including CNN and BBC picked it up to show it around the world. Decades later, Morgan's story captured the attention of people again across social media.
Many wondered what Morgan did with his fortune and how his life turned out to be. In 2020, at 59, he told Daily Mail Australia that he took out a cheque for $200,000 and bought a house and he still lived in it. He shared that he continued to buy scratchies but hasn't won anything significant since 1999.
Unfortunately, his health hasn't held up as he had to retire due to heart problems and arthritis. However, he is grateful for the extra years to live, a nice car to drive, and a great house to live in with his wife.
