A homeless man in California has won $1 million from a lottery scratch card he initially believed was worth just $200.
Armando Vidal, a regular at Sandy’s Deli & Liquor in San Luis Obispo, bought two $5 tickets for the California Lottery’s Triple Red 777 Scratchers game in April. When he returned to the store to verify what he thought was a small win, store manager Wilson Samaan stunned him with a simple question.
“What are you going to do with a million dollars?” Samaan asked, according to a press release from the California Lottery.
“I was like, huh?” Vidal recalled. “And that’s how I found out that I’d won a million dollars.”
Samaan later drove Vidal to the California Lottery office in Fresno so he could officially claim his prize.
Vidal became homeless after an injury in 2008 left him unable to continue working in Santa Maria. He eventually settled in San Luis Obispo, where he frequented Sandy’s Deli — the same store where his life-changing win happened.
Three months after the prize was claimed, the California Lottery shared an update on how Vidal plans to use the money. He is currently securing permanent housing, hopes to get a bed and a pair of dogs, and plans to invest the rest to ensure long-term financial security.
“After his win went viral in April, Vidal also plans to keep a much lower profile in the future,” the lottery organization said.
In a video shared by a local store shortly after the win, Vidal expressed his hopes plainly: “I just can’t wait to get off the streets.”
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