Retirement came early for a lucky Scratchers player who purchased a ticket from her local convenience store in Long Beach, California Lottery officials announced Tuesday.
Julie Bass was sitting with a friend on her 25th work anniversary in February and had a few tickets purchased from the Golden Moon convenience store in Long Beach to play.
“I had scratched my five-dollar ones, and I told her, ‘I’m not winning!’” Bass said to her friend. “She says, ‘Oh, Miss Julie, you have two more back there.’”
When Bass finally scratched off her winning ticket, she initially thought she had won a free game. When she looked again, Bass still thought she had won only $1,000 until her friend let her in on the actual amount.
“Look at that!” said her neighbor. “Girl, you hit the jackpot!” Bass then realized she was holding a $1 million Triple Red 777 Scratcher.
The prize meant Bass would no longer have to wait her final two years to retire.
“I started my job as a clerk, and now that I’m a manager, I felt my reward was my seven promotions. But He showed me that day, ‘no, I got something else for you.’ And that was that million dollars,” said Julie, who drew on her faith to explain the big win. “He said, ‘go ahead and leave.’”
Bass plans to use the money to buy a house near her only daughter. “I feel like I’m an especially blessed person,” she said.
Now in its 40th year, Lottery officials said players have helped raise more than $46 billion for public schools in California.