CA Lottery: Gilroy College Student Wins $1 Million

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — A 19-year-old college student from Gilroy walked into a South Bay gas station to buy a drink — then walked out a millionaire. Giovanni Escamilla scratched his way to the $1-million top prize by playing California Lottery's California Black Premium Scratchers. Escamilla told lottery officials he doesn't play the lottery all that much and wasn’t sure if he had won, so he scanned the ticket with his cellphone using the new Check-A-Ticket feature on the California Lottery’s mobile app.

"He couldn’t believe it when it read, 'You’re a winner! You have won $1,000,000,'" lottery officials said in a news release Friday.

The lucky ticket was purchased at the Cochrane Food Mart and Carwash, 851 Cochran Road, in Morgan Hill.

Esmcamilla said he and his father stopped at the gas station to get something to drink and decided to try their luck at some Scratchers while they were at it.

Escamilla told lottery officials he wasn't sure yet what he would do with the money, but did say he hoped to use some of it to make even more cash.

The business will receive a $5,000 retailer bonus from the California Lottery just for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.

Photo courtesy California Lottery