Homeless man in California wins $1 million jackpot

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A man apparently living on the streets of San Luis Obispo recently won a $1 million jackpot on a California lottery scratcher bought at a liquor store.

Wilson Samaan has worked at Sandy's Liquor since 2013, and says this is the first time someone has ever won a prize of this size. He says the winner is a longtime customer, who is also homeless.

"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?' 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, that's $1 million. Congrats brother,' so and we gave each other a high five."

Wilson Samaan, manager, Sandy's Liquor

When asked what goes through his mind when a regular customer wins a ticket, Samaan said, "A lot. A lot of happiness for the person, especially like a person or a regular customer. I wish them all the best."

Samaan did more than just confirm the winning ticket: "I drove him to Fresno I think the next day, or Wednesday, because he's like, 'Do I want to send it in the mail?" And I told him, 'That's a million-dollar ticket. No, I will drive you.'"

Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery, explained what has to be done before the money is awarded:

"With a million-dollar ticket like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process. 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."

She say this vetting process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months, and involves an interview with the winner, checking to see if the person owes the state any money, and a few other factors.

"We process over 10,000 winning claims a month, so that's part of why it takes a little bit of time," Becker added.

Following this, the winner came in to buy a few more tickets. He declined an on-camera interview with an NBC affiliate in San Luis Obispo, but said this is a life-changing amount of money, and he intends to make a down payment on a home on the Central Coast, get a car, invest and save the rest.