Entertainment
Violent, R-Rated Action Thriller On Netflix Is A Certified Fresh Winning Ticket
By Robert Scucci
| Published
If I ever won a $156 million lottery jackpot, I wouldn’t tell anyone, but there would be signs. First, I’d fake my own death, only to resurface a couple weeks later wearing a fake mustache and going about my business as usual.
When approached by people who say, “Hey, didn’t you just die?” my answer would be simple: “That wasn’t me, that was the impostor.” When they inevitably respond with “What?”, I’d say “Huh?” throw a smoke bomb on the ground, and run away because I’d have enough disposable income for a limitless supply of smoke bombs. Then I’d fake my death again, this time resurfacing a couple weeks later with a goatee.
I’d repeat this process a dozen or so times until the novelty wears off. Then I’d fake my death for real and retire to my underground bunker. My intended elusive methods may seem insane, but this rock solid plan is nothing compared to what happens in 2023’s Your Lucky Day. Here, a guy wins the jackpot at a convenience store, brags about it loudly, and immediately gets compromised by another patron who just so happens to be hard up for cash and willing to do whatever it takes to claim the ticket.
A Terrible Plan, And Its Many Escalations
In Your Lucky Day, we’re first introduced to a low-level drug dealer named Sterling (Angus Cloud), who gets robbed during a deal gone wrong. Not knowing how to recoup his losses, Sterling pops into a convenience store to take a quick breather. Inside, the store’s owner, Amir (Mousa Hussein Kraish), and a regular customer, Mr. Laird (Spencer Garrett), are making small talk while Mr. Laird scans his Mega Ball tickets at the lottery kiosk to see if he won anything. Also in the store are Abraham (Elliot Knight), his pregnant girlfriend Ana (Jessica Garza), and a cop named Cody (Sterling Beaumon).
Here’s how it all goes down. Ana and Abraham are grabbing ice cream, Cody is in the bathroom, and Mr. Laird discovers he just won the $156 million jackpot. Sterling tapes a makeshift mask made from a Mega Ball flyer to his face and decides to rob the store to take the ticket. The scuffle that follows brings Cody out of the bathroom with his weapon drawn. In the ensuing chaos, Cody accidentally kills Mr. Laird. Sterling, who now has nothing to lose and everything to gain, shoots Cody, presumably killing him as well.
Sterling locks down the store and demands that Ana, Abraham, and Amir help him dispose of the bodies, but not before discussing how they’ll split the winnings. Everybody is understandably apprehensive, especially since the winning ticket is now tied to a fatal robbery, potentially rendering it useless. Still, they come up with a plan that, on paper, allows them to get rid of the bodies without drawing suspicion, cash in the jackpot, and go their separate ways. Or so they think. The plan sounds airtight until unexpected complications start piling up.
Unexpected, But Welcome Lead Role Switcheroo
Kicking off from Sterling’s perspective, Your Lucky Day pivots quickly once the robbery spirals out of control. Sterling may have secured the Mega Ball ticket, but he’s still a low-level criminal thinking one step ahead at best. Ana, one of his hostages, gradually takes control of the situation, and it’s the best part of the movie.
Ana is nine months pregnant and rightfully terrified by everything that’s happened, but that doesn’t stop her from stepping up. She’s calculating, sharp, and quick to map out a contingency plan that makes you wonder what kind of crime lord she was in a past life. What she doesn’t anticipate is that Cody’s corrupt cop family is looking for him, and they’re closing in fast.
Your Lucky Day is a tight, low-budget thriller with more charm than its back-pocket production values would suggest. It tells a simple story, and that simplicity works because of how fast it escalates and how confidently it throws curveballs at the audience.
Watching how quickly everybody adjusts to the situation once they realize they could walk away from this never worrying about money again is half the fun. Loyalties shift, nerves fray, and the stakes keep climbing as the walls close in, but you’ll want to stick around to see how it all plays out.
As of this writing, Your Lucky Day is streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for February 14, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is know your spot up shooters.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
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Yellow: Ref noises
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Green: NBA Jam
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Blue: Sharpshooters
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Purple: College icons
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #509 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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Signal for Play to Stop – BUZZER, HORN, SIREN, WHISTLE
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Dunks – 360, BETWEEN-THE-LEGS, REVERSE, WINDMILL
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NBA 3-Point Contest Winners – HERRO, HIELD, LOVE, PIERCE
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College Mascots – BIG AL, BRUTUS, OTTO, RAMESES
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
Entertainment
Billy Zane's New Horror Comedy Announced
How It Started
One of Jonathan’s uncles shared with him X-Men comics from the early ’80s, starting a lifelong passion for superheroes. That same uncle introduced him to role-playing games with Dragon Warrior 3, creating a lifelong love for video games, reading, and writing.
The first gaming newsletter Jonathan wrote was in 1996 over America Online for his very first gaming club, The Society of Nus. With a membership of around 30 like-minded gamers, this turned out to be a sign of where he’d end up, but it took over 10 years to get there.
In 2009, Jonathan started writing news for TrueAchievements, helping the fast-growing gaming website to develop a News Bible, and putting in place policies and procedures that have stayed in place to this day. Soon after, Jonathan became the Community Manager for 360voice, another achievement-based website, with over 200,000 registered users and the home of many gaming contests.
When the PlayStation 4 came out, Jonathan switched to TrueTrophies, continuing to write gaming news, reviews, and opinion pieces. One of the original hosts of the TrueAchievements podcast, he’d also be a frequent guest on other podcasts related to achievements and gaming, while earning his Master’s in Library and Information Science.
In 2022, Jonathan left his job as a librarian to pursue writing full-time, working for GameRant and DualShockers as a news writer.
How It’s Going
Jonathan now works as a Deputy Editor for GIANT FREAKING ROBOT, continuing to live the dream of writing for a living. His co-workers include two cats, Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, that frequently spend his entire shift curled up at his feet.
When not working, Jonathan continues to enjoy reading, keeping up with comics, still playing video games, and attending every wrestling event he can find between Warhammer weekends.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for February 14, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 14 Pips
Equal (1): Everything in this purple space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 1-5, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this orange space must add up to 5. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 4-2, placed vertically.
Equal (4): Everything in this purple space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically; 5-4, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this red space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-4, placed vertically.
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Medium difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 14 Pips
Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally; 1-5, placed vertically.
Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 1-5, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally; 0-4, placed vertically.
Equal (0): Everything in this red space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 0-3, placed horizontally.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 14 Pips
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally.
Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (2): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically.
Equal (4): Everything in this green space must be equal to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 3-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 0-2, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed vertically.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
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