Winner winner chicken dinner! You just won the lottery, but do you know what to do next? Here’s what to know before you cash out.
A California man says persistence helped him win $5 million on one of the state's lottery scratch-off tickets.
Clyde Stokely said he knew he won when he saw the number 28 on his 100x Scratchers ticket match the top prize.
“I was excited, of course. I had to look at it a bunch of times in my vehicle to make sure I wasn’t seeing 26 instead of 28,” Stokely told the California Lottery.
After that, he scratched the rest of the box and saw the large amount of $5,000.000.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Stokely credits his special way of playing for years with the big win.
He told the California Lottery he always scratches the top row above the 25 boxes, which reveals only the numbers. So, when he saw that one of the numbers was 28, he knew he had won something.
“I don’t consider myself superstitious. It’s just a funny thing to do," he said.
Stokely said he will continue to play the same way.
"There’s no logic behind it. That’s how I play all of them. I guess you can say it’s just a quirky way that adds suspense,” Stokely said.
The winning ticket was sold at the Cambria General Store in San Luis Obispo County, which received $25,000 for selling the lucky ticket.
The California Lottery has more than 50 Scratchers games available. Click here to see them all.
