Homeless Man Wins $1 Million on California Scratch-Off Ticket

Posted on: April 15, 2025, 02:14h. 

Last updated on: April 15, 2025, 03:10h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

• A homeless man in San Luis Obispo, Calif., won $1M on a scratch-off ticket
• The winning Red 777 Scratcher ticket was bought at Sandy’s Deli-Liquor
• The man thought he won $100K until the store manager confirmed it was $1M

A homeless man, apparently living on the streets of San Luis Obispo, Calif., won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket last week, according to local newspaper reports.

The unnamed man was described as a regular customer at Sandy’s Deli-Liquor, where he bought the winning ticket. Store manager Wilson Samaan told Cal Coastal News that the winner initially believed he had won $100K.

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. Thats $1 million. Congrats brother,’ so, and we gave each other a high five.”

“He deserved every penny of it,” Samaan told The San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s a good guy.”

The winning ticket was a Red 777 Scratcher, Samaan said. It was the first time anyone had won a lottery prize of that size from his store.

‘Can’t Wait to Get Off the Streets’

Another local businessman, Adam Kemp of the vintage shop Thrifty Beaches, posted a video to Instagram of himself chatting to the winner.

The video shows a man who appears to be in his 40s with a scruffy beard, wearing a baseball cap and blue hoodie, brandishing a scan of the winning ticket.

“My friend here just won $1 million in the lottery in SLO,” Kemp said in the video.

I won $1 million here in SLO at Sandy’s Liquor store,” the man confirmed. “I just can’t wait to get off the streets,” he added.

In the video description, Kemp mentioned that the man and his wife had been homeless for some time.

Wait for Winnings

The man won’t get his windfall right away, according to California Lottery spokesperson Caroline Becker. First, there’s a vetting process for all winners. Typically, it takes a few months before the money is released.

With a million-dollar ticket like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process,” Becker told KSBY. “As you can imagine, we give away a lot of prize money at the CA lottery, and we are happy to do it, but we want to make sure we are giving it to the right person.”

The winner told KSBY that he intends to make a down payment on a house, buy a car, and bank the rest of his money.

“He deserves it,” Samaan said. “It’s like when good things happen to good people.”