$610K Fantasy 5 Winner Was Just Stopping For Gas
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles man who just stopped into a Chevron station for some gas, is more than $600,000 richer after he played his lucky numbers in the California Lottery's Fantasy 5 game.
Lottery officials said Soeung Thach was just running a typical errand last week when he picked up a Fantasy 5 ticket that would change his life.
Thach won $610,882 after matching all five numbers in the October 1 draw.
"I was just out getting gas when I decided to buy a ticket," Thach told the Lottery.
He actually bought $5 worth of tickets. Thach played $5 and parlayed it into $600K+. Three of his five selections were Quick Picks, drawn by the computer.
The winning ticket correctly matched the selected numbers 12, 16, 19, 29 and 37.
"I just used a combination of lucky numbers when I bought the ticket," Thach -- a native of Cambodia -- said.
Thach is a retired auto factory worker. He said he took his ticket into his grocery store on Oct. 2 to check if he had won anything.
He won a lot of anything.
"When I scanned it, I realized I won. I was so happy I had to call my son," Thach said.
Thach ourchased his ticket at a Chevron station located at 2601 Figueroa Blvd. in Los Angeles. "I always go to that gas station to buy tickets," Thach said.
Plans for the cash? Thach says he plans to help some family members, as well as send some of it back home to Cambodia.
A player wins the Fantasy 5 top prize by matching five numbers out of a field of 39. Winning numbers are drawn every day. The top prize starts at $75,000 and increases daily until someone matches all 5. Thursday evening's draw is $169,000. (The draw closes at 6:30 p.m. PT)