By Dan Satherley
On the cult TV show Lost, Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes won $114 million by playing the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.
He would later go on to say the numbers were cursed – but that hasn't stopped thousands of people using them in real-life lottery draws, almost a year since the show ended.
This week, their perseverance finally paid off – in the Mega Millions lottery draw on Tuesday (US time), playing the numbers netted over 9000 people $150 each.
Show producer and writer Carlton Cuse was quick to distance himself from any conspiracy, writing on Twitter: "I'm sure there is a larger reason for this, but in case it never gets explained, don't blame me or Damon." (Damon Lindelof, the other brain behind the show.)
On Lost, Hurley gets the numbers from a mental health patient, who tells him he should never have used them. Soon after winning the lottery, Hurley's grandfather dies, his mother's new house burns down, he is arrested on suspicion of drug dealing, his newly-bought fast food restaurant is hit by a meteor, the priest at his church is struck by lightning and of course, his flight from Sydney to LA lands on a crazy island, where things got worse.
Over 9000 lottery winners in the US will be crossing their fingers it doesn't happen to them, and probably avoiding planes for the next few months.
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