Woman Working On Her Day Off At Walmart Lands $1M Windfall

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Walmart worker begrudgingly answered the call to come in to work on her day off earlier this year. But little did she know it would change her life forever — with a $1 million lottery windfall.

“It was Labor Day and they only needed me for three hours. I wanted to obviously be home with my family because we planned to barbecue,” Rebeca Gonzalez said in a release.

She headed in to work her abbreviated shift at the City of Industry Walmart and intended to buy a scratch ticket on her break. But it was so busy, she nearly forgot.

"I didn't remember I was going to buy a Scratchers until I left for the night and passed by the (lottery) machines," Gonzalez said.

It's a good thing she didn't forget. She bought a $10 Single Double Triple scratch ticket and ended up winning the $1 million top prize.

Gonzalez used her winnings to pay off her debt and said she and her husband are closing on a new home. Despite the windfall, she's still clocking in and out at Walmart.

“I’ve only told one person at work, and it was the manager who wanted me to stay late on a holiday,” Gonzalez shared. “He couldn’t believe it.”

The Walmart where Gonzalez works and bought the ticket got a $5,000 bonus from the California Lottery for selling the ticket.

The lottery this week also announced four other $1 million Scratchers winners:

• Wayne Sims won on a $1M Ultimate Cash ticket purchased at Pearl Market on Divisadero Street in San Francisco.
• Alex Vela won on a $1M Ultimate Cash ticket purchased at Circus Liquors in North Hollywood.
• Robert Befriends won on a $1M Ultimate Cash ticket purchased from Palma Liquor in La Palma.
• R. Abrahamian won on a Multiplier Craze ticket purchased from the 7-Eleven at Burbank Boulevard and Buena Vista Street in Burbank.

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