South Bay Scratcher Jackpot Winner Can't Believe Her Eyes

BELLFLOWER, CA - Elsa Zatarain couldn't believe it when she scanned a $20 Scratchers ticket she bought at a Torrance Doughnut shop and it showed she had won $2 million. So much so, she scanned it several times just to make sure.

The 49-year-old administrative assistant from Bellflower discovered the dream was true: She had won the top prize on the California Lottery's Grand Crossword Scratchers game.

Zatarain said she first scanned her ticket using a Lottery Check-a- Ticket machine. She suspected she had possibly won something big but she couldn't imagine how much, so she went to her back-up plan. "I grabbed my phone, I scanned (the ticket) and it said $2 million," Zatarain said. "I went straight home ... all shaking. I didn't tell anyone until I got home."

She continued scanning and rescanning the ticket using the California Lottery Mobile App's Check-a-Ticket feature. Time after time she continued to get the same response.

"I couldn't sleep. I was even waking up to scan," she said.

Zatarain finally visited one of the Lottery's nine District Offices to get confirmation that what she was seeing was true.

"It's life-changing for us ... for my family," she said. "I can't explain this. It's a good feeling."

This spectacular million-dollar moment began with a simple purchase. Zatarain bought her lucky Scratchers at Royal Donuts in Torrance.

The retailer will receive a $10,000 bonus from the Lottery just for selling that winning ticket.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock