Haul in the family: one lucky clan wins its third lottery

Wondering where all your good luck has gone? Maybe the McCauleys of Charlotte, N.C., have it. For the third time in 20 years, a member of the family has won the lottery.

A buzzy article from the AP delves into the details. Back in 1991, the family won $15.5 million from the New York Lotto. This was their biggest haul, but not their last. Sixteen years later, Amy McCauley held the ticket to $160,000 in the North Carolina Education Lottery. Then, in 2009, Amy picked up two more prizes, each worth $1,000.

And now, in 2011, Kimberly McCauley (daughter of Amy) won $100,000 on a scratcher card.

The McCauleys aren't the first family to win the lottery more than once. Take Ernest Pullen. He wasted no time in notching his second against-all-odds upset. After winning $1 million in June of 2010, Pullen claimed a $2 million prize in September. Perhaps true to his first name, Pullen remarked that he considers himself "a lucky guy."

While Pullen accomplished his multi-victory feat quickly, he was downright pokey compared with Angelo and Maria Gallina. The couple, who had played the lotto regularly for years, won $126,000 in a California lottery game. Then, hours later, they won a whopping $17 million playing the SuperLotto.

But even their good and fast fortune may pale in comparison with the woman who is often called the luckiest person in the world. Joan Ginther has won four jackpots since 1993, for a total of $20.4 million. Each time, she scored more than $1 million. According to an article from MSNBC, the Daily Telegraph reported that the odds of winning four lottery jackpots is more than 200 million to 1. We're just happy if we find an extra $5 in our pants pocket.