Latest news with #TripleRed777
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Lottery player pounds desk after scratching California ticket. ‘I lost my mind'
While an interruption to a 'daily rhythm' can often be an inconvenience, it turned into a 'life-changing moment' for a California lottery player. During a 'routine morning stop' at a Vacaville gas station across the street from his work, Michael Wright bought a $10 Triple Red 777 scratch-off ticket, California Lottery officials said in a July 15 news release. Soon after, Wright said he 'got to scratching' in his methodical way. 'I start from the bottom right corner and work my way up,' Wright told lottery officials. Wright found multiple zeros — six to be exact. 'Am I seeing things? Is this a dream? Oh my gosh,' Wright said of his reaction realizing he had won $1 million. 'I lost my mind in the store. I started pounding the little lottery desk.' Prior to his win, Wright had been looking for an exit from his day job of more than three years. And his 'win just accelerated a plan in motion,' lottery officials said. 'I told my son, 'We're going to transition. I'll find something else for us. We are going to exit gracefully,'' he said. Wright told lottery officials he already has plans for his winnings, including starting a family business with his wife and buying a new home. Wright said his win 'came at the right time.' 'If you don't believe in a higher power when this type of stuff happens, you've got to,' he said. Vacaville is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Sacramento.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
$1 million lottery winner who hoped to ‘get off the streets' officially identified
The California Lottery has identified a homeless man who once lived in the Bay Area as the winner of a $1 million prize from a scratcher purchased in San Luis Obispo earlier this year. The winner, Armando Vidal, said he bought two $10 Triple Red 777 Scratchers in April at Sandy's Deli & Liquor, where he is a regular customer. At first, Vidal believed he had just won $200. When he returned to the store to verify the tickets, the scan suggested he might have won $100,000 — until the store's manager, Wilson Samaan, took a closer look at the printout. 'What are you going to do with a million dollars?' Samaan asked him, according to Vidal. 'I was like, huh?' Vidal said. 'And that's how I found out I'd won a million dollars.' Vidal became homeless in 2008 after an injury left him unable to work. He spent years living on the streets in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo. He told lottery officials that the win marks a dramatic turning point for him. He plans to use the money to secure stable housing – ideally with a bed and room for a couple of dogs – and hopes to invest the rest to ensure long-term financial security. The odds of winning a $1 million prize on a Triple Red 777 scratcher are 1 in 2,047,423, according to the California Lottery. Samaan, who built a rapport with Vidal over the years, personally drove him to the Lottery office in Fresno to help him claim the prize securely. 'He tried to mail it,' Samaan told the Chronicle in April. 'I told him, I'll help you out. I offered him a bus ticket or for me to drive him. I didn't want a million dollars to get lost in the mail.' Vidal told lottery officials that the media attention following his win in April was overwhelming, after another local business owner — Adam Kemp of the vintage shop Thrifty Beaches — shared his story on Instagram. 'My friend here just won $1 million in the lottery in SLO,' Kemp said in a viral video, pointing at Vidal. He now plans to keep a much lower profile.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Winning $15 million lottery scratcher sold in Los Angeles
A California Lottery player has become the first top-prize winner of the state's 40th anniversary-themed Scratchers game, taking home a staggering $15 million. Israel Martin Rodriguez scored the jackpot with a 40 Years of Play! Scratchers ticket purchased at a 7-Eleven on the corner of Oxnard Street and Woodman Avenue in Van Nuys. The winning scratcher, which was purchased in February, also netted the store a $75,000 bonus for selling the ticket. California Lottery official Nancy Weimer presented a celebratory poster to 7-Eleven franchisee Karam Singh and store employee Massi Singh earlier this year. The special edition scratcher game was launched on Jan. 20 to commemorate four decades since voters created the California Lottery in 1985. The $40 ticket features prizes ranging from $40 to $15 million, with overall odds of winning better than 1 in 3, California Lottery officials said. Only five top prizes are available, and just two have been claimed so far. The winner and selling location of the other jackpot winner have yet to be announced. The California Lottery said that information will be released 'soon.' Players interested in playing the 40th anniversary-themed game but who don't want to spend $40 can opt for a $2 version, which offers a top prize of $40,000. Other recent winners during the Lottery's anniversary year include Margarito Gonzales Cortes, who won $1 million with a Triple Red 777 ticket in San Jose; Enrique Baldoni, who claimed $5 million with a Cash King ticket in Seal Beach; and Fidencio Duran Macias, who picked up a $7.5 million prize from a Crossword Extreme ticket in Huntington Beach. More information on California Lottery games can be found at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
‘Girl, you hit the jackpot.' Woman to retire early after massive CA Lottery win
National 'Girl, you hit the jackpot.' Woman to retire early after massive CA Lottery win The woman also plans to buy a house near her daughter with the winnings. Getty Images/iStockphoto A woman playing Triple Red 777 scratcher tickets purchased in Long Beach told a neighbor things weren't going well, California Lottery officials said. 'I had scratched my five-dollar ones, and I told her 'I'm not winning!'' Julie Bass said, according to a Tuesday, May 6, news release by the lottery. 'She says, 'Oh Miss Julie, you have two more back there.'' Bass scratched off a winning ticket, but at first thought she'd won only a free ticket, then a $1,000 prize, she told lottery officials. It turned out to be much more. 'Look at that!' said her neighbor. 'Girl, you hit the jackpot!' Bass had won $1 million on the scratcher on her 25th work anniversary, prompting her to immediately decide to retire two years ahead of schedule, lottery officials said. Crediting God for the win, Bass said she didn't feel like an exceptionally lucky person. 'I feel like I'm an especially blessed person,' she said. Bass said she also plans to buy a house near her daughter with the winnings. Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families. If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website. DS Don Sweeney The Sacramento Bee Go to X Email this person 916-321-1028 Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 25 years. He has been a real-time reporter based at The Sacramento Bee since 2016.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'A person who deserved it': Homeless man wins $1 million in California scratcher, store manager says
A stroke of luck for a homeless San Luis Obispo man may finally allow him to afford a home — and the second chance he's been dreaming about. 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. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
