Stephen Espinoza (right) won a $1million prize from the 500X THE CASH scratch-off game in Florida (Picture: Florida Lottery)
A man who took it easy when someone cut him in line to buy a ticket from a lottery machine was rewarded in a big way.
Stephen Munoz Espinoza, 43, of Delray Beach, was at a Publix supermarket trying to buy a lottery ticket.
‘It was the end of a long day, and I was tired. I stopped at Publix and was about to buy a ticket at the machine when a man cut right in front of me,’ said Espinoza.
‘Instead of saying something, I decided I’d just buy a ticket at the counter instead.’
The rude incident led to a fortunate turn of events for Espinoza.
‘I can’t believe I won a million dollars!’ he said.
Espinoza claimed the prize from his winning 500X THE CASH Scratch-Off ticket at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee.
‘If you think patience doesn’t pay off’, the Florida Lottery tweeted, ‘Stephen Espinoza of #DelrayBeach managed to keep his cool and stroll out of Publix—a gentleman and a millionaire!’
Espinoza opted for a one-time lump-sum payout of $820,000. He and his wife plan to buy a home for their family.
The 500X THE CASH has a top prize of $25million, which is the biggest amount offered on a scratch-off game by the Florida Lottery. The overall odds of winning the game are one-in-4.50, which are the ‘best odds to become an instant millionaire’, according to the organization.
Espinoza is not the only lottery player who has won big after things initially did not seem to go as planned.
In May 2021, Elizabeth Johnson of Lucama, North Carolina, rushed to purchase a Powerball ticket but narrowly missed the cutoff time. However, her $3 Power Play ticket wound up matching all five white ball numbers to win $1million, which was doubled to $2million with a 2X multiplier.
‘It was definitely a shock!’ said Johnson. ‘When I got the message saying that I had won I thought, “Well, I didn’t even play tonight.”’
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‘Instead of saying something, I decided I’d just buy a ticket at the counter instead,’ said Stephen Espinoza.
