James Brown, a husband and father of three daughters in college, is about to lose a job he’s had for 27 years at Alexandria’s GenOn Power plant on October 12.

But here’s a fortuitous twist to this unlucky tale: He won $102,500 in the DC-5 Lottery last week.

WJLA reports that Brown bet on his birthday at his neighborhood One Stop Food Mart. He says he was inspired to make the move when “something tapped me on the shoulder and said, you need to play your number.”

With that change of luck, he certainly feels good. So here’s to you James Brown: