A weekly ritual became a life-changing event for a Southern California couple who purchased a lottery scratcher in Riverside County.
Nicholas Gercis and his wife have been playing the California Lottery for more than 20 years, purchasing a couple scratcher tickets every week as a sort of excitement and family bonding.
Over the years, they’ve had a handful of victories: “$100 and stuff,” Gercis said.
But it was a 50X The Cash Scratchers game they purchased at a 7-Eleven store in Eastvale that completely reshaped their fortune.
“We buy scratchers every week, and we started buying these fifty-times ones, and it was doing okay for us,” Gercis told the California Lottery.
The scratcher game purchased earlier this year netted the couple a lot more than $100. In fact, it was a $1 million grand prize.
“It was just, like, you know, just ‘what the heck?!’” Gercis said.
With that life-changing jackpot, the Gercis family plans to put the winnings to work, starting with paying off their house, making a donation to their church, and then investing the remainder for a “sense of security.”
The lottery win is not only a boost to the Gercis family; it also helps the California public education system.
“Raising extra money for California public education is the only reason the California Lottery exists,” said California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker. “For 40 years players have provided more than $46 billion in extra money used across all levels from kindergarten through university.”
The lotto win also gives a little back to the store on Schleisman Road where the winning game was purchased.
In addition to the Gercis family, Pablo Flores won the top $5 million prize on a 100X Scratchers game purchased from Lucky Market in Fresno.
For more information about how funds from the California Lottery are put to use, click here.