A San Diego resident won close to a half-million dollars in the Mega Millions Lottery and was left completely speechless, triple-checking his ticket in awe.
According to California Lottery officials, Sonier De La Cruz matched five of the six numbers on a ticket he purchased for the June 23 Mega Millions drawing, winning $430,295.
Busy with family visiting from out of town, the lucky winner didn’t check his lotto ticket for more than a week and was in utter shock when he saw those matching numbers on Thursday after scanning his ticket on a Lottery machine.
“I said, ‘Maybe it’s wrong,’ so I checked it three times,” De La Cruz told the California Lottery Office.
But the numbers didn’t lie and the store clerk confirmed it. At that moment, De La Cruz said he “just went quiet,” and couldn’t believe his luck.
The newest lotto winner bought his ticket at Ranch Market at 7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in San Diego. The five numbers he matched were 38, 70, 56, 13 and 6.
Lottery officials say De La Cruz now plans to buy a house and says the money will change his life.
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“It’s going to make my life a lot easier because I’m not going to have to worry about renting,” he said.
News of the winning ticket had customers excited at Ranch Market on Friday.
This included Julia Donnell, a regular customer at the market.
“I’m shocked. I’m going to go buy one now,” Donnell told NBC 7. “I’ve never bought a ticket here before but now that I know someone won, I’m going to make it a point to get one myself. I’m on it!”
