A homeless man in California won a huge $1 million jackpot with a lottery scratch ticket. The man from San Luis Obispo bought the life-changing winning ticket at Sandy’s Deli-Liquor.
Sandy’s manager, Wilson Samaan, spoke to KSBY about how the homeless man learned about his wins. “He came into the store, scratched it, and was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Is this real? “Wilson, could you come and take a look?” Samaan asked. The winner had also been a regular customer at his shop, where he had worked since 2013.
$1 Million Lottery From Scratch Ticket Goes To Homeless Man
I’m like, ‘Let me see,’ so I grabbed the ticket out of his hand went to the machine over there,” Samaan continued. “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. That’s $1 million. Congrats brother,’ so, and we gave each other a high five.”
Soon after winning the scratch ticket, Samaan helped the man earn his big prize. “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,'” he explained.
There are various steps that must be taken before a lottery ticket winner can get their prize. This is according to a spokesman from the California State Lottery who spoke with the outlet. “With a million-dollar ticket like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process,” said spokeswoman Carolyn Becker.
“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 process may take as little as a few weeks to as much as a couple of months.
They must also conduct an interview with the winner to ensure that they owe the state any money. “We process over 10,000 winning claims a month, so that’s part of why it takes a little bit of time,” Becker told me.
The man declined to do an on-camera interview, which is arguably the best thing to do if you win a jackpot. Otherwise, his life has changed dramatically and for the better since he won the scratch ticket.
He told the source that he intends to put a down payment on a Central Coast property. The winner also wishes to acquire a car before saving the remainder and investing it.
