A 58-year-old man insists he’ll keep working despite winning $5 million on a $20 lottery ticket that he purchased in Pasadena, officials announced Thursday.
“I was excited and a little scared,” Francisco Banuelos said in describing how he felt when he realized he had won the money, according to the Lottery.
Banuelos won his prize last month on a $20 Scratchers ticket in the “100X the Money” game.
According to the lottery, Banuelos said he plans to keep working. He said he would buy a house, then eventually invest some of his winnings.
But Banuelos didn’t disclose to lottery officials the nature of his profession.
“We share as much as he would let us, but he didn’t want to share much,” said lottery spokesperson Elias Dominguez.
He said Banuelos’ reluctance to provide much personal information was a bit unusual, especially since the winner agreed to have his picture taken with a mock-up of the lottery check.
But Dominguez said it’s possible the winner’s withholding of too much information was because of “shock, or he’s shy.”
The ticket was purchased at Super Liquor at 125 East Orange Grove Blvd. in Pasadena. The retailer will receive $25,000 for selling the winning ticket. That amount is not taken from the winner’s award, according to lottery officials.
–City News Service