Two California Lottery players are now millionaires after winning $1 million each from scratcher games, the state lottery office announced Thursday.
Kaleb Heng, who played the lottery for the first time on his 18th birthday, won $1 million from the Perfect Gift scratcher game. Heng was given the scratcher as a gift from his grandmother, who purchased the ticket at Oasis Market in Turlock in Central California.
“My mom was driving me to go fishing, and on the way, I scratched it. We had to pull over. It was a million dollars, and I didn’t even have an ID yet!” Heng said in a statement. “We turned around and went home because I had to get an ID before I could even claim the ticket.”
Heng told the lottery office that he plans to use the money to pay for college and invest in his future.
Another state lottery player also received his winning scratcher ticket as a present from a family member.
John Vang’s brother-in-law gave him the Power 10 scratcher ticket for Christmas. The winning ticket was purchased at Sunnyside Liquor & IPA Hub in Fresno, a news release said.
Vang and his wife were visiting the Golden State during the holidays. Vang described his win as “ironic” since he isn’t a frequent scratchers player.
“I actually don’t ever play Scratchers – that’s what’s funny about it,” Vang said. “I do play Powerball and Mega Millions, but not Scratchers.”
Vang didn’t disclose what he planned to do with his newfound riches.
Multiple California lottery players have been lucky lottery winners, including Edwin Castro, a California resident who won the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in November.
Castro recently used some of his winnings to purchase a Hollywood Hills mansion for $25.5 million and a $4 million home in Altadena.