Unhoused man in California wins $1M on lottery scratcher

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. -- On the Central Coast of California -- an unhoused man has become a millionaire from a scratch-off ticket.

He purchased the lucky scratch card from a store earlier this month.

"That's the winning ticket up there," said Wilson Samaan, manager at Sandy's Liquor.

He has worked there since 2013, and said that this is the first time someone has ever won a prize of this size.

He says the winner is a longtime customer, who is also unhoused.

"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?'," Samaan said.

"I'm like let me see, so I grabbed the ticket out of his hand 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, and we gave each other a high five."

"What goes through your mind when someone who shops here so often wins a ticket like this?," asked KSBY reporter Karson Wells.

"A lot. A lot of happiness for the person, especially like a person or a loyal, regular customer daily. I wish them all the best," Samaan replied.

Samaan did more than just confirm the winning ticket.

"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 there."

What has to be done before the money is awarded?

"With a million dollar winner like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process. As you can imagine, we give away a lot of prize money at the California Lottery and we are happy to do it, but we want to make sure we are giving it to the right person," said Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokesperson.

She says this vetting process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months, and involves an interview with the winner, checking to see if the person owes the state any money, and a few other factors.

"We process over 10,000 winning claims a month, so that's part of why it takes a little bit of time," Becker said.

Wells said while he was at Sandy's Liquor, the winner came in to buy a few more tickets.

The winner declined an on-camera interview, but he said this is a life-changing amount of money.

He intends to make a down payment on a home in the Central Coast, get a car, and then invest, and save the rest.