Imagine walking into a gas station to grab your favorite drink and walking out a millionaire. That’s exactly what happened to one lucky Beaumont man who purchased a winning lottery ticket at Buzzy Bee gas station near downtown.
“It was a $20 ticket,” said the winner, who wishes to remain anonymous. He couldn’t believe his luck when he scanned the ticket on his phone and saw that he had won a million dollars.
After playing the lottery for 30 years, this unexpected win came as a shock to the retired Navy veteran. “I sat in my chair all night, didn’t sleep with my ticket in my hand. Then at 8:00 in the morning, I was at the lottery claim center in Beaumont. About 30 minutes later, I walked out with a check,” he shared.
After taxes, he will pocket around $630,000 and plans to invest most of the money. “Tomorrow I’m buying $500,000 worth of stocks and bonds and keeping the rest,” he revealed.
But what truly sets this winner apart is his decision to pay it forward. “When I first started buying them I told myself that if I ever hit big, I was going to give the clerk that sold me the ticket some of those winnings,” he said.
His message to fellow lottery players is simple, “Players out there, just endeavor to persevere. It’s all luck you just gotta buy them at the right time.” So next time you’re feeling lucky, maybe it’s worth picking up that lottery ticket after all.
