All news

Well-liked homeless man wins $1 million in a California scratch-off

The store owner drove him a distance of over two hours to help him🐈 claim the jackpot he d💧eserved.

Wilson Samaan, Sandy's Liquor store owner.
Wilson Samaan, Sandy's Liquor store owner, sold the $1 million-winning Triple Red 777 scratch-off ticket to the lucky winner. Photograph credit to KSBY.
Halley Bondy

A homeless man in San Luis Obispo, California, claimed a $1 million win on a 168极速赛车官方入口:California Lottery scratch-off ticket on Friday, according to KSBY. If confirmed, it will transforrm the lives of he and his wife, who have been living on the streets in the area together.

From homeless to millionaire in an instant

The man, who has not been publicly named, bought a winning ticket for the scratch-off game Triple Red 777 at Sandy's Liquor, according to the retailer's Instagram.

“Big congrats to our loyal customer on his $1 million jackpot-winning scratch ticket at Sandy's,” stated the post caption.

According to Cal Coastal News, the store's owner, Wilson Samaan, regularly trusted the winner to watch the front of the store when Samaan was needed in the back. The winner had been a loyal customer for 12 years, Samaan said.

The winner told KSBY that he would spend his winnings on a down payment for a home and a car. The rest would be squirreled away in savings.

Well-liked by local business owners

According to KSBY, the winner initially misread his ticket. Samaan explained to 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 and 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. That's $1 million. Congrats, brother,' so, and we gave each other a high five.

Samaan said the winner was going to mail in his ticket to claim his win, but that Samaan drove the winner to Fresno instead, a distance of over two hours. Samaan told Cal Coastal News:

I was so excited he hit the jackpot because he deserves it. It's like when good things happen to good people.

A nearby retailer called Thrifty Business featured the winner in a celebratory Instagram video without naming him.

In the caption, the owner mentions that the man and his wife have always been “nice.”

“My friend here just won the lottery for a million dollars in [San Luis Obispo]...That's crazy,” said the owner in the video.

The winner held up his ticket and said to the camera:

I won a million dollars here in [San Luis Obispo] at Sandy's liquor store, and I can't wait to get off the streets.

Beating incredible odds

To play Triple Red 777, players scratch tickets hoping to find the number 7, and if they find two sevens, their prize doubles. Should they find 777, the prize triples. It costs $10 per ticket, with twenty tries per play. The top prize is $1 million.

There's a 1 in 2,047,423 chance of getting the $1 million prize, according to the California State Lottery.

The win has not been confirmed yet. This is a process that could take several weeks, according to KSBY.

Comments

0
Loading comments

Related articles

18-year-old Juliette Lamour won $48 million playing Lotto 6/49 in Canada.
Survey says jackpot winners pick mo🍸m first — who would you call?

But not everyone dials Mom — some winners go for friends, spouses🍃..., and even ex-wives.

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

A still capture from the security footage outside of Buddy's Food and Lotto, an Orlando liquor store, where Ruth Monroe got assaulted after cashing in a $200 winning lottery ticket.
When luck turns deadly: Real lottery winne✤rs under attack

Robbers turn lottery winners into victims.

Alex Cramer profile pic

Alex Cramer

The Mississippi Match 5 logo over a green background with dollar signs.
Mississippi Lottery celebrates 1,000th draw with record j🐓🔯ackpot

Nearly $1 million awaits Mississippi pla🙈yers as l💝ottery fever spreads.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

Recent articles

View All
The Mississippi Match 5 logo over a green background with dollar signs.
Mississippi Lottery celebrates 1,000th draw with record jꦚa🐠ckpot

Nearly $1 million awai🔯ts Mississippi players as lottery fever spreads.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

The Ohio Lottery Rolling Cash and Nebraska Lottery Pick 5 logos over a yellow background with shooting stars.
Lucky Thursday: Pick 5 players s﷽cored $783K in jackpots across two states

With big wins in ▨Ohio and Nebraska, some wonder: Will this jackpot wave roll𝕴 into the weekend?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Jeremiah Ehlers.
Judge says lottery ⛦theft case against Nebraska man can move ahead

He cashed in the $300K winning t🌄icket, but court docs say he broke the rules to do it.

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Kelly Bostic, a special education teacher at Covington Middle School.
168极速赛车官方入口:Virginia Lottery campaign awards t๊eachers $2,50ﷺ0

T﷽hank your favorite teacher, and they could win $2,500 in Virginia.

Halley Bondy profile pic

Halley Bondy