SACRAMENTO – At least one San Diego man loves the California Lottery’s newest Scratchers game, California Millionaire.
Ignacio Lucero was at a 7-Eleven store in San Diego and as usual, he purchased California Millionaire Scratchers tickets, four of them to be exact. As he explained to California Lottery officials, he knew instantly that he won. “I scratched it right outside the retailer and I knew immediately I had won,” explained Lucero. “I went back in, told the clerk, went home and made plans to claim my prize.”
Lucero is a resident of San Diego and has been a librarian for more than 30 years. When asked what he would do with his prize, he said, “I’m going to invest it for my retirement.” When asked if he would retire early? Lucero replied, “I love my job. I’m a former Marine reading stories to kids. What a great job! I learn something everyday and I’m not leaving!” He also plans to use his prize to help his family live comfortably.
“We have so many of these wonderful winner stories where a player wins a large prize that they use to improve their lives and the lives of those close to them,” said Joan Borucki, director of the California Lottery. She continued, “We’re very happy for Mr. Lucero.”
The Scratchers game Lucero played is California Millionaire, a popular Scratchers game designed to award 15 instant million-dollar prizes and five second-chance draws for $1 million prizes. Lucero is the sixth player to claim one of the 20 million-dollar prizes the game offers. He is the eighth California Lottery player this year to land a prize of at least $1 million.
More than 95 cents of every Lottery dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retail commissions. The California Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of nearly $55 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.5 billion in compensation since 1985.