$1M Scratchers Ticket Purchased In Petaluma

PETALUMA, CA — A pool company owner is now a millionaire after recently scoring a $1 million prize on a Monopyly Scratchers ticket at a Petaluma convenience store, California Lottery officials said.

Kevin Ghee bought that winning ticket at Adobe Beverage & Deli, 1410 S. McDowell Blvd. in Petaluma, where he actually went to buy margaritas.

“My change was one penny and when the clerk handed it to me, he said, ‘Here’s your lucky penny,’ and that’s what I scratched my ticket with,” Ghee told the Lottery.

He scratched it in his car, but his phone was dead so he couldn’t scan it on the Lottery mobile app to check whether he won. Once he scanned it at home, he first thought he had won $1,000, but then he saw more zeroes and rechecked, quickly realizing it was worth $1 million.

Once he convinced his family it was true, his wife and daughter went to buy a safe where they kept the ticket until they could claim the prize the following Monday.

“That safe sat on my lap for a couple of hours, while I just sat there and laughed and drank margaritas!" Ghee said.

He told Lottery officials he plans on buying his family a house, starting college funds for his kids, and investing the rest.