Homeless man wins $1 million on lottery scratcher from California liquor store: report
A homeless man in California was given an Easter blessing after his lottery ticket reportedly ended up winning him $1 million.
Earlier this month, the L.A. Times reported that a homeless man became an instant millionaire after purchasing a scratcher ticket from a liquor store in San Luis Obispo.
Wilson Samaan, the owner of Sandy’s Liquor, shared his excitement over the winning ticket with the Times and said that the winner was a longtime customer.
“I was so excited, even more than him,” Samaan told the Times. “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.”
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The winner initially thought he had won $100,000, but Samaan let him know he had won an even bigger amount.
Samaan shared a photo of the winning ticket on the store’s Instagram page along with a picture of the big check, captioning the post, “Big congrats to our loyal customer on his $1 million jackpot-winning scratch ticket at Sandy’s.”
The lucky winner, who chose to remain anonymous, told the outlet he plans to purchase a house and a car with his winnings.
According to the Times, Samaan and the winner have a “close relationship,” and to make sure he was able to secure his winnings, Samaan told the outlet he drove the winner to the California Lottery office in Fresno.
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The win is still being verified by the California Lottery, and a spokesperson for the lottery told the Times it could take weeks to verify the win.
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As the retailer that sold the winning ticket, Samaan’s store will also reap the benefits of the winning ticket and collect $5,000, or a 0.5% share of the jackpot.
Fox News Digital reached out to the California Lottery for comment.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]