Riverside County lottery winner Rick Knudsen describes his run of luck before winning a $180 million jackpot. Raw video broadcast Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014 on NBC4.
A Southern California man who describes himself as a "numbers guy" said he felt he had to play the lottery when he noticed an unusual pattern during his purchases that made him "feel lucky."
"I went to a store, it was $6. I went to a restaurant, it was $24. Everything I bought for two days -- which was seven different times -- everything came back with no change, so I just felt lucky," said 53-year-old Rick Knudsen of the tiny Riverside County town of Calimesa. "That made me decide to buy a ticket. I don't buy tickets unless I feel lucky."
That lucky feeling moved Knudsen to purchase a lottery ticket about five times per year, including Aug. 21, he said. The married father of five said he "had a lot of lucky things happening" -- including the even-numbers streak and a lucky night at Fantasy Springs Casino -- so purchasing a Mega Millions ticket seemed like a good idea.
The $5 Quick Pick at a convenience store near his home turned out to reward him with a $180 million jackpot. Knudsen was the sole winner of the Aug. 22 draw.
Wearing flip-flops and shorts when he was introduced as the winner, Knudsen said he "retired the next day" from his job as a manager of a roofing distribution company. Knudsen said he plans on moving his family from Calimesa to a home in the mountains.
The couple was with family members in the Coachella Valley when her husband realized his was the winning tickets.
"When he said, 'I got this,' I said, 'No,'" said Lorie Knudsen. "I scanned it like he did, looked up at him and said, 'You got it.'
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"We just started hugging and screaming."
The convenience store where Knudsen bought the ticket is also a winner, taking in a $900,000 retailer bonus check.
"(I'm) very excited. I didn’t sleep all night I was getting all the phone calls, text messages from our friends, family,” said Monira Begum, the 7-Eleven store owner.
Begnum and her husband will have to split their money with the 7-Eleven corporation.
Knudsen purchased the ticket just five weeks after a Fontana store churned out a $60 million Powerball winner.
