Airport Worker Wins $20M Off Scratcher Sold In Hayward

HAYWARD, CA — A Bay Area airport worker received the surprise of a lifetime this holiday season after hitting for an eye-popping jackpot off a $30 set of scratchers.

Lottery officials said Durwin Hickman, who works as a skycap, was on his lunch break when he bought a "Set For Life" scratcher from L&M Liquor in Hayward. Within a few minutes, that phrase would become reality.

After getting to the second-to-last spot on the sheet, Hickman uncovered the word "LIFE," awarding the highest prize of $20 million, paid out in $800,000 installments over 25 years. The lucky winner said he immediately sent a picture to his wife to make sure he was seeing things right.

"It was the biggest rush I have had in my life," Hickman told the lottery. "My whole thing is I wanted to buy my wife a house."

The store that sold Hickman the ticket also got a share of the Christmas cheer, earning a $100,000 bonus from the lottery. Hayward may be a luckier town than most — another player recently hit for $1 million on a Cloud 9 scratcher sold at Seafood City.

The winners join a half-dozen other scratcher players that have struck gold over the holiday season, including a $5 million payout on a ticket recently sold at Golden Eagle Gas in Morgan Hill.