A homeless man experienced a remarkable turn of events when he won the lottery last week.
This individual bought a California Lottery scratch card from Sandy’s Deli-Liquor in San Luis Obispo and quickly scratched it to check for a prize.
To his surprise, the Red 777 Scratcher revealed that he had won a substantial sum. Initially, he believed he had secured $100,000, but Wilson Samaan, the store owner, informed him that the true prize was $1,000,000.
The lucky winner was a regular at the store, having been a customer for over ten years. Due to their long-standing relationship, Wilson would sometimes ask him to keep an eye on the store while he attended to tasks in the back.
Recounting the moment the man, whose identity remains undisclosed, uncovered the winning numbers, Wilson told KSBY: “He came to the store, he scratched it and is like, ‘Oh, my God. Is that real? Wilson, can you come and take a look?’
“I’m like, ‘Let me see,’ so I grabbed the ticket out of his hand went to the machine over there. He’s like, ‘Man, I’m not homeless anymore!’ I’m like, ‘Man, you hit the jackpot.’ He’s like, ‘$100,000’ and I’m like, ‘No, bro. Thats $1 million. Congrats brother,’ so, and we gave each other a high five.”
Beyond confirming the ticket’s authenticity, Wilson went a step further by driving him to the California Lottery’s offices in Fresno within the subsequent days, avoiding the risk of mailing a winning ticket worth a million dollars.
“I drove him to Fresno I think the next day, or Wednesday, because he’s like, ‘Do I want to send it in the mail?’ And I told him, ‘That’s a million-dollar ticket. No, I will drive you,'” Wilson said.
Describing the win as ‘life-changing,’ the man plans to use the money for a house down payment, purchase a car, and then either invest or save the remainder.
However, as explained by Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the CA State Lottery, it might take some time before he receives his winnings.
“With a million-dollar ticket like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process,” she said. “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.”
This procedure could last several weeks or even months, involving an interview with the winner, and checks including any outstanding debts to the state, among other considerations.