Local Man Finds Out He Won The Lottery By Joke Text From Co-Worker

LOS ANGELES, CA – A joke text from a colleague recently led a Los Angeles County man to realize he'd won the lottery.

Michael Chavez may have to buy his coworker lunch with his $1,214,818 in winnings.

It was the morning after the presidential election, and Chavez wasn't planning to head into the office.

“I actually woke up in the middle of the night to check the election results to see who won for president, not Mega Millions,” Chavez told the California Lottery. “I went back to bed without looking at my ticket.”

He forgot to tell his office that he wouldn't be coming in that day.

Later in the morning, his co-worker texted to tease him about his absence. His co-worker joked that the reason he didn't come in was because he probably won the lottery. Then he sent him a screenshot of the Mega Millions results with the winning ticket sold at nearby Lake Liquor.

“He kidded me if the reason I wasn’t at work was because I had won the million. He even jokingly congratulated me,” Chavez said with a laugh.

"Is that why you not here yet, boss LOL," the co-worker texted.

"Holy...I haven't checked mine," replied Chavez. "That's where I bought my ticket."

"Oh boy wouldn't that be the cherry on top huh," replied the co-worker.

"That would be sick," texted Chavez.

It was enough to make Chavez check his ticket — after all, he did buy his Mega Millions ticket at Lake Liquor in Lakewood, where the winning ticket was sold. To his surprise, the ticket matched five of the six winning numbers from that draw and was worth $1,214,818.

Chavez said there’s no telling how long he would have waited to check his ticket had it not been for the playful text that tipped him off.

“I could not believe my eyes,” he exclaimed. I’m so excited and extremely grateful. I’ll never forget election night or especially that text.”

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