Lottery player notices someone won big in CA, then reality sets in. ‘It was me’
Max Lopez has been playing California lottery games for quite some time.
“I’ve been playing since day one, when it first started,” Lopez said in an Aug. 14 California Lottery news release.
But in those four decades of play, Lopez “had never won more than small prizes” — until now, lottery officials said.
Following his usual routine, Lopez said he bought a $20 Monopoly Scratchers ticket at his “neighborhood spot,” a gas station in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Lopez was looking at the California Lottery app on his phone “when he noticed something unusual,” lottery officials said.
“I saw there was a big winner and thought, ‘That’s cool,’” he told lottery officials.
But then, reality set in.
“It was me!” Lopez said.
Lopez won $5 million, marking the first time someone in his circle of friends or family took home a big win from the gas station, lottery officials said.
Lopez isn’t alone in his big lottery win; Cleopatra Marcus won $1 million on a 50X The Cash ticket sold in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sylmar.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Lottery player notices someone won big in CA, then reality sets in. ‘It was me’."
