Man Cashes In $810K Powerball Ticket He Bought At East Bay Gas Station, Then Nearly Forgot About

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Jose Salazar missed out on winning the historic $371.1-million Powerball jackpot by just a single number back on Aug. 12. He also nearly missed out on his $810,840 prize after correctly matching five of the six winning numbers, California Lottery officials said Friday.

Salazar doesn't play the lottery much, so when he purchased $10 worth of Quick Pick tickets at an Antioch gas station just off Highway 4, he just tossed them in his glove compartment and forgot all about them until a few days later. As he was looking for some paperwork, he stumbled across them and decided to take them back to Hillcrest Chevron, 3400 Hillcrest Ave.

"He scanned the tickets and that’s when it hit him. 'It looks like I won the lottery, thank God!' he remembers saying to himself as he saw the $810,840 figure pop up on the screen," lottery officials said in a news release.

Salazar, who declined media interviews or photos, told lottery officials he'll likely use the money for retirement — which he's been considering for a while.

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