A homeless man in California won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket, according to local reports.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased his ticket at Sandy’s Deli-Liquor in San Luis Obispo. Wilson Samaan, the store manager, told Cal Coastal News that the winner is a loyal customer who occasionally assists him by watching over the front of his shop.
Samaan told KSBY that the winner initially misread his ticket and believed he had won $100,000. Only after Samaan looked at the ticket did he realize his customer had won the entire million.
“He came into the store, scratched it, and was like, ‘Oh my God. Is this real? “Wilson, could you come take a look?” Samaan spoke. “I was like, ‘Let me see,’ so I took the ticket out of his hand and went to the machine over there. He says, ‘Man, I’m not homeless anymore!’ I was like, ‘Man, you hit the jackpot.’ He says, ‘$100,000’, and I say, ‘No, bro. That’s $1 million. “Congratulations, brother,” I said, and we exchanged high fives.
The shop manager confirmed that he sold the $1 million winning ticket, but also drove his customer to the California Lottery office in Fresno. The winner had intended to mail his ticket, but Samaan insisted on driving him to ensure that it was delivered to lottery officials without incident.
Samaan was overjoyed for his customer’s good fortune and believed the winner deserved a break.
“I was so excited he hit the jackpot because he deserves it,” she said. “It’s like when good things happen to good people.”
The winning ticket was a red 777 scratcher. Samaan stated that it was the first time anyone had won a lottery prize of that size at his store.
Lottery officials told KSBY that all winners go through a vetting process before the state releases any money. Typically, the process takes several months.
“With a million-dollar ticket like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process,” Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California State Lottery, told the publication. “As you can imagine, we give away a lot of prize money at the CA lottery, and we are happy to do it, but we want to make sure we are giving it to the right person.”
The winner told KSBY that he plans to use his winnings to make a down payment on a house, buy a car, and save the rest.
