'A person who deserved it': Homeless man wins $1 million in California scratcher, store manager says
A customer of Sandy's Liquor in the Central Coast city won a $1-million scratcher from the California Lottery this month, state lottery officials said. According to the store's manager, Wilson Samaan, the man is a longtime customer who is homeless and did not wish to speak publicly. But Samaan couldn't contain his joy for the customer during an interview with The Times on Wednesday.
"I was so excited — even more than him," Samaan said. "He's a good person, he deserves every penny. ... I was very excited it happened to a person who deserved it, and he actually needed it."
The man's win, first reported by KSBY News, is being verified by the state lottery, officials said. The store shared a photo about the big win on Instagram, congratulating its "loyal customer." Samaan said this was the largest lottery win for his store since he began working there in 2013. As the retailer that sold the ticket, the store will receive $5,000, or a 0.5% share of the jackpot.
Read more: Did you buy a lottery ticket in Anaheim? You may now be a multimillionaire
Samaan said he's gotten to know the winner well over the last few years, even trusting him to watch the store when he has to restock items or deal with an issue. Samaan had offered the man a job at one point, but he said a bad knee left him unable to do necessary manual labor, like refilling shelves or coolers.
'He's a good, trustful person," Samaan said.
The man found out about the scratcher win while in the store sometime last week, Samaan said.
'He's like, 'Wilson, come over here, is that true, is that real?'' Samaan recalled. 'I scanned it and I'm like, 'Bro, you hit the jackpot!'''
Initially, the man thought he won $100,000, but Samaan let him know it was even more than that.
'He said he's not going to waste the second chance he got gifted, so he's gonna buy a car and a small house. Then the rest of the money, he's going to invest or find a business," Samaan said.
The store manager said he ended up driving his friend to the closest California Lottery office, in Fresno, to ensure the ticket made it there. The man initially was going to mail it in, he said.
Read more: He was worried about who won the election. Meanwhile, he won the lottery
Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery said the organization hasn't yet confirmed the identity or validity of the winner, noting that the verification process can take weeks. However, she confirmed that a $1-million Triple Red 777 game was sold at Sandy's Liquor in San Luis Obispo this month.
"We never announce winners until the claims and vetting process is over," Becker said.
The Triple Red 777 game has a top prize of $1 million; the chance of winning that comes out to be 1 in 2.47 million. But overall odds of winning cash prizes in the game are 1 in 2.92, according to the California Lottery.
There are still five of the game's 13 top prizes unclaimed.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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