PATTAYA: The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has left Thai waters, but the “lucky number” attached to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is still circulating among lottery players.
The U.S. Navy strike group departed Laem Chabang Port in Sri Racha, Chonburi, after several thousand Marines and sailors came ashore in Pattaya from 2–6 September, briefly boosting local tourism. Once the ship sounded its farewell, the holiday bustle faded. Another kind of excitement did not.
Buyers have been hunting tickets ending in 72, the hull number of the Abraham Lincoln, both at street stalls and on the Paotang app’s six-digit L6 lottery for the 16th of September 2026 draw.
A Pattaya News reporter checking the Paotang app found that the draw is offering 31 million tickets at 80 baht each. Searches for tickets ending in 72, including 000072, returned “no tickets found.” The reversed ending, 27, was still available.
If tickets were evenly distributed, a 31-million-ticket draw would contain about 310,000 numbers ending in 72. Those L6 tickets appear to have sold out. The figure does not include conventional paper government lottery tickets.
Vendors in Pattaya, Na Kluea Market and Banglamung said the same thing: “Sold out. This draw, 72, the American warship number, went very fast.”
Lottery players have linked visiting U.S. ships to winning numbers before. When the USS Jackson (LCS-6) took part in CARAT Thailand 2022 near Sattahip and Koh Samui, many bet on 06. The 16 May 2022 government lottery then drew the last two digits 06.