A “loyal customer” of a downtown San Luis Obispo liquor store recently won the $1 million prize on a scratcher, the business announced last week.

And according to another local business, the man was homeless and had been living here on the streets.

In an Instagram post on Friday, Sandy’s Deli-Liquor at 586 Higuera St. announced it sold a Triple Red 777 scratcher with a winning prize of $ 1 million.

“Big congrats to our loyal customer on his $1 million jackpot-winning scratch ticket at Sandy’s,” the business wrote in the post.

According to the California State Lottery, the odds of getting a $1 million prize on a Triple Red 777 scratcher are 1 in 2,047,423.

The business also shared a photo of the winning ticket as well as a sign that reads “millionaire made here.”

When reached for comment Sunday evening, a California Lottery representative said they could not “confirm or acknowledge any big wins like this until the person who won comes forward and their claim is thoroughly vetted by our security and law enforcement division.”

That process usually takes about six to eight weeks, they said, though it could take even longer if there were any unusual circumstances.

On Monday, Sandy’s manager Wilson Samaan told The Tribune that he was there when the man who bought the winning scratcher learned he had won.

According to Samaan, the man — who he declined to identify — bought two 777 scratchers and some smaller ones on the evening of April 6 for $25. He checked one of the 777 cards immediately and won $200, which the cashier at the register cashed out for him.

The other he didn’t check until he came in first thing the next morning while Samaan was working.

“And he’s like, ‘Oh my God, come take a look at this. Is that true?’” Samaan said. “I’m like, ‘Let me see.’ So I grabbed the ticket out of his hand, and I put it to the machine, and I’m like ‘Oh my God!’”

“Bro, you hit the jackpot,” he told the man as he gave him a high five.

At first, Samaan said the man thought he had only won $100,000 — still a life-changing amount — but then the manager said there was another zero at the end of the figure, making it a whopping $1 million prize.

A $1 million winning scratcher was sold at Sandy’s Deli-Liquor in downtown San Luis Obispo on April 6, 2025. Manager Wilson Samaan displays the winning scratcher and the receipt behind the cash register. Kaytlyn Leslie/kleslie@thetribunenews.com

Samaan has since been helping the man get the win verified by the California Lottery, including providing them with photo and video evidence of the purchase. Samaan even offered to drive the man — who doesn’t have a car — to the nearest office in Fresno to redeem the scratcher rather than sending it in the mail and risk it getting lost.

Samaan has also posted the winning ticket in his shop behind the counter. A handful of people have already stopped in to take photos of the once-in-a-lifetime win, he said.

“I was so excited, I believe more than him, because he deserves it,” Samaan said. “It’s gonna change his life forever. I hope for the good.”

Sandy’s Deli-Liquor store manager Wilson Samaan points to the $1 million winning scratcher that a customer bought at the store on April 6, 2025. Kaytlyn Leslie/kleslie@thetribunenews.com Winner: ‘I can’t wait to get off the streets’

Though details on who won were not immediately available, the owner of the Thrifty Beaches store in downtown San Luis Obispo congratulated the man for the win in an Instagram post Saturday.

“My friend here just won $1 million in the lottery in SLO,” owner Adam Kemp said in the video as he pans to a man in a jersey holding a page showing the winning scratcher.

“I won $1 million here in SLO at Sandy’s Liquor store,” the man says. “I just can’t wait to get off the streets.”

In the post, Kemp wrote that the man who won and his wife “have been on the street for a long time,” noting that the pair were always nice to him and his girlfriend, Thrifty Beaches co-owner Maria Trott.

“I’m so happy for the both of them,” he wrote. “You never know when it’s your day to win big in life!”