‘I’m Not Homeless Anymore!’ California Lottery Names $1 Million Jackpot Winner

• Formerly homeless man wins life-changing $1M lottery prize
• Scratch-off ticket bought at Sandy’s Deli & Liquor
• Viral Instagram clip helped amplify uplifting  journey

A formerly homeless man who won $1 million on a scratcher in April has been named by the California Lottery as Armando Vidal.

Lottery officials confirmed Monday that Vidal became homeless in 2008 after an injury left him unable to work, and spent years living on the streets of Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo (SLO), Calif. But his personal circumstances improved significantly after he purchased two $10 Triple Red 777 Scratchers in early April from Sandy’s Deli & Liquor in SLO.

‘Is That Real?’

Vidal, a regular customer at Sandy’s, initially believed he had won $200. Then he thought it might be $100K, according to store manager Wilson Samaan.

“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 told Cal Coastal News in April.

I’m like, ‘Let me see,’ so I grabbed the ticket out of his hand, went to the machine over there,” Samaan continued. “He’s like, ‘Man, I’m not homeless anymore!’ I’m like, ‘Man, you hit the jackpot.’ He’s like, ‘$100K?’ and I’m like, ‘No, bro. Thats $1 million. Congrats brother,’ 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.”

Vidal told lottery officials he had been overwhelmed by media attention following his win, especially after a conversation he had with another local business owner, Adam Kemp of the nearby vintage shop Thrifty Beaches, went viral on Instagram.

He said he plans to stay out of the limelight and use the money to get an apartment and to invest the rest to ensure financial stability.

Social Media Hoaxes

Vidal’s million-dollar win was unique. Casino.org has been unable to find any other instances of homeless people winning truly life-changing lottery jackpots. However, there have been some social media hoaxes.

Hossain launched a crowdfunding campaign to help Aursby find housing, which raised more than $44K. However, in 2018, Aursby claimed he hadn’t received the full amount. Hossain denied this and later produced documentation that appeared to show Aursby was lying.

The saga raised serious questions about the ethics of exploiting vulnerable people for social media “experiments” packaged as entertainment, even when intentions may be good.