While most of us would be happy to at least win the lottery once, it seems some people in California are getting especially lucky these days. One guy in Los Angeles managed to win the lottery twice in one day, while another is $3 million richer from a scratch ticket. The rest of us just keep on scratching.
Two winning scratch tickets in one go
The first story relates to Mario Martinez, who bought two lucky scratch tickets at the same time, in the same Los Angeles store. The California Lottery said in their September press release that Martinez had bought a “Twisted Scratchers” ticket at a local store, which ended up winning him $1,000.
However, he also purchased a “50X the Money” scratch ticket from Extra Plus, which was worth an amazing $1 million.
California man wins the lottery twice in one day - SFGate - SFGate https://t.co/nFNxn6yDMC #lottery
— Buy Lottery Tickets (@BuyLottery) September 24, 2017
As reported by SFGate Martinez reportedly turned in his winning tickets at the Santa Fe Springs District Office. When asked what he and his wife were going to do with all that money, he said they weren’t sure what they will do when they receive that giant check, as they don’t yet have it in their hands. According to the California Lottery, the store where Martinez bought the tickets was an excellent choice, as it sells at least 400 winning tickets each week.
This is actually great for that particular store, who reportedly will receive a $5,000 bonus from Martinez’ win.
‘Set for life’ from winning scratcher ticket
The second story relates to a Bay Area man and a brand new millionaire, who bought a “Set for Life” scratcher at the 7-Eleven store on Fremont Boulevard in Fremont last Wednesday.
When Salvador Reyna scratched his ticket, he discovered to his delight that he had won a $3 million jackpot.
Bay Area man hits $3 million jackpot on a $5 Set For Life scratcher. https://t.co/7DmwdiG8AK
— San Jose Now (@SanJoseCP) September 23, 2017
Reyna now has the choice of either taking a monthly payment of $10,000 for the next 25 years or receiving a lump sum, less tax, of $1.74 million in cash.
NBC News spoke to the owner of the 7-Eleven, who said he was excited for his customer and went on to congratulate Reyna. He also went on to thank all his regular customers who visit his store and for trusting them as the place to buy their lottery tickets. No doubt he will also receive a pleasant bonus.
Lottery luck for others, while bad news for some
Mind you, it’s not just California that has lottery luck. As was recently reported, a woman who was evacuated from Florida during Hurricane Irma decided to buy a couple of scratch tickets in North Carolina, while on her way to Virginia and ended up being lucky. OK, so Tiffany Hatfield “only” won $10,000, but that will go a long way towards fixing up the minor damage to her Florida home from the storm.
There was also the sadder tale of a California man, who lost out on a $5 million lottery win, simply because he had asked his underage teenage son to buy the winning scratcher. He is planning on suing the California Lottery for his loss.