Cerritos 'Donuts Donuts' Shop Sells First $1 Million Lottery Scratcher

Cerritos Donut Shop Sells First $1 Million CA Lottery “Cash Spectacular” Scratcher

For one 59-year-old Buena Park man, the Donuts Donuts shop in Cerritos has always been his favorite coffee stop. But now, the longtime donut shop on South Street holds even more meaning considering it’s the place that made him an instant millionaire.

The California Lottery recently launched its $250 Million Cash Spectacular scratcher – the first-ever $10 Scratchers ticket – and on the evening of Oct. 16 the game’s first $1 million winner was revealed.

The winner, who asked to remain anonymous, purchased his winning ticket at the Cerritos donut shop located at 12544 South St. near Bloomfield Avenue, according to lottery officials.

With a wall enshrined with photocopied images of previous winning lottery tickets and scratchers, this shop is obviously no stranger when it comes to dancing and romancing Lady Luck. 

For selling the winning ticket, the bakery will receive a $5,000 retailer bonus.

The game still has about 30 instant $1 million prizes to be won out of the more than 10.6 million available prizes the $250 Million Cash Spectacular offers, according to lottery officials.

A Lucky Encounter, Meeting the Anonymous Million-Dollar Man

It was a late Wednesday afternoon when I found out that the quaint donut shop that I had passed by so many times over the years, had sold the golden ticket. Later that evening, I dropped by Donuts Donuts simply out of intrigue.

After entering the bakery and introducing myself, a man standing behind the counter greeted me with a smile and encouraged me to take photos of the new lottery banners that adorned the shop along with a photocopy of the winning ticket.

Amid my flurry of snapshots, a lone portly man sitting with a table full of lottery tickets and a cup of coffee, asked me to take a few photos of him as he went through his scratchers. Of course, I happily obliged and thought to myself, “This is perfect, someone actually scratching tickets!”

When I asked him to write his name down so I could caption his photos, he took pause and shook his head.

“Oh no, no. I don’t want my name to be with the pictures,” he said. “Actually, can you not publish them?”

I was slightly confused by the change in his demeanor, but obliged out of respect for his privacy. And that’s when the storybook encounter began …

“I’m actually the guy who bought the winning ticket,” he said with a bashful smile, “that’s why I don’t want you to publish my name or photo.”

And that’s when I almost dropped my camera and notebook on the floor …  right next to my jaw. In disbelief, I turned to the shop’s employee who quickly nodded and confirmed that I was indeed face-to-face with the area’s newest millionaire – because he has asked to remain anonymous, let’s call him Mr. X.

It's a Stop He Makes At Least Twice a Week

As a longtime resident of Buena Park, Mr. X says he visits the Cerritos donut shop at least two or three times a week to enjoy a cup of joe, purchase a few lottery tickets, but most of all, because he simply enjoys the atmosphere.

“The people here are really nice, I have a lot of friends here,” he said.

But Mr. X said he certainly had no idea that he'd win such an enormous prize on that fateful Sunday night.

“I was done that day,” he joked, adding that he initially purchased a single lottery scratcher that won him a free ticket, and it was that freebie that ultimately nabbed him the million-dollar win.

“I scratched it right here,” he said while sitting in the same corner table on the east end of the bakery. “I knew I won right away, but I had to have them (the clerk) check it first and fill out the paperwork.”

Mr. X said he remained subdued that night despite realizing he had just become an instant millionaire, “Because I’m a gambler,” he explained with a grin.

It’s also not the first time he’s run into luck playing the lottery – he once won $1,500 in Fantasy 5, and just three months ago he won $1,000 on a scratcher.

After taxes, Mr. X expects to walk away with about $640,000 -- money that he already has plans for.

“First buy a Mercedes for my wife, then help pay for my three kids’ student loans for college, and maybe do some improvements on our home,” he said to me while continuing to scratch through a bulk of newly purchased tickets.

“Wow, you’re still playing?”, I asked.

“You never know, maybe I’ll get lucky again,” he said. 

- - -

According to the CA Lottery: The $250 Million Cash Spectacular Scratchers ticket is part of the Lottery’s continued effort to give out more prizes, create more winners and earn more money for education. The oversized ticket features a unique holographic design and, in total, offers more than a quarter of a billion dollars in prizes. To play, simply match any of “Your Numbers” to any of the six “Winning Numbers” and win that prize. Uncover a “star” symbol and win $100 instantly. Uncover a “WIN” symbol and win all 20 prizes automatically! Overall game odds of winning a prize are 1 in 3.50. Odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 1.2 million.