SACRAMENTO – On Monday afternoon luck brought Joseph Aguilar down to Madera for a visit with friends. Actually, it was luck that brought Aguilar home when he noticed his gas needle was a little too close to empty. “With gas prices being crazy nowadays, I didn’t know how much [money] I would need to fill up my tank.” Aguilar explained, implying he overpaid for the tank and returned to the clerk to get his change. When he learned that $5 remained, a Scratchers ticket caught his eye. He purchased the ticket and casually put it in his pocket, unscratched. Aguilar recalled, “I didn’t even play until I got home.”
Later that day, Aguilar remembered the ticket. What happened next is something he struggled to explain. “Unbelievable,” Aguilar said of the feeling he experienced after uncovering the $100,000 prize. “It was weird how it felt. I double-checked and it took two days to finally settle in.”
Aguilar works part-time and attends Fresno State. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering and noted that the money would go toward finishing his education.
The $5 Stars & Stripes Scratchers ticket was sold at Madera Valero and Gas at 1488 South Madera Avenue, in Fresno.
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.