Lottery player thought he won $2,000 on CA ticket. But he ‘found too many zeros’
As a California man looked to cure his boredom, he decided to take a gamble.
To “have some fun,” Rwhi Zeidan bought an Instant Prize Crossword Scratchers from a San Francisco tobacco store on March 5, California Lottery officials said in a June 10 news release.
Ironically, the store sits across the street from Good Luck Café, just a few blocks from Union Square, lottery officials said.
Upon reading his prize after scratching his $20 ticket, Zeidan said he realized he “didn’t read the number correctly.”
“Twice I read it was $2,000,” he told lottery officials.
Then, after one more glance, Zeidan said he “found too many zeros.”
“So I counted them one by one,” Zeidan said. “That’s when I got really shocked.”
He counted six zeros; Zeidan won the game’s top prize of $2 million, lottery officials said.
“I texted my kids, and they said, ‘Who was that, you?’ and I said yes,” Zeidan said. “Until that moment, it was hard to believe.”
Zeidan told lottery officials he plans to spend his winnings paying off his home’s mortgage, “which will give him some peace of mind.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he won $2,000 on CA ticket. But he ‘found too many zeros’."
