A Walmart employee who was called in to work on her day off went home a million dollars richer after buying a winning Scratchers lottery ticket from a California Lottery machine after her shift, the Lottery said in a news release.
Rebeca Gonzalez received a call on Sept. 2 from her employer, the Walmart store in City of Industry in Los Angeles County, California.
“It was Labor Day and they only needed me for three hours. I wanted to obviously be home with my family because we planned to barbecue,” Gonzalez said.
After her shift, Gonzales bought herself a lottery ticket from a California Lottery vending machine.
“I’d planned on buying one on my break, but it was so busy I totally forgot,” she said. “I didn’t remember I was going to buy a Scratchers until I left for the night and passed by the machines.”
It proved to be her lucky night, as the $10 Single Double Triple Scratchers ticket won her the top prize of 1 million dollars.
“I couldn’t believe it!” she said.
Gonzalez said she used the money to pay off all of her debt, and is now looking forward to buying a new home with her husband. She didn’t have any immediate plans to quit her job at Walmart.
“I’ve only told one person at work, and it was the manager who wanted me to stay late on a Holiday,” Gonzalez said. “He couldn’t believe it.”
It’s also good news for her employer, as the City of Industry Walmart will get a $5,000 bonus for selling her the winning ticket, lottery officials said.
In addition to Gonzalez, the California Lottery release listed three other top prize winners, each of whom took home a million dollars.
Recent Winners
A winning lottery ticket would make anyone’s day, but some people need it more than others.
In July, a great-grandmother from Pennsylvania who recently completed radiation treatments for breast cancer won $5 million on a $50 scratch-off state lottery ticket. The 75-year-old bought the ticket to console herself after her flight to visit family in Florida was repeatedly delayed, causing her to decide to cancel her trip.
Luck Strikes Twice
In May, a Massachusetts woman bought a $1 million lottery ticket for the second time—just ten weeks after her first win in February.
On both occasions, she opted to receive her prize in the form of a one-time payment of $650,000, the Massachusett Lottery said in a statement.
The store that sold her the winning ticket received $10,000.