Newark Man Has Heartwarming Plans For His $1M Lottery Win

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An Essex County man plans to pay off his relatives’ student loans and buy a multi-family home so they can stay together with his recent $1 million lottery jackpot. And he almost didn’t notice that he’d won, officials say.

When Gorge Toledo walked into the Getty Food Mart on Elizabeth Avenue in Newark, he bought a pack of the new 50X THE BUCKS game on a whim. The longtime lottery player was so into the routine of scratching his tickets, he almost missed the big winner, New Jersey Lottery officials said Tuesday.

Lucky for Toledo, his phone had him covered, officials said.

“As [Toledo] scratched through the pack, he found a few winning tickets totaling $160,” officials said. “When he got to the last ticket in the pack, he simply scratched and scanned it quickly with his phone, not looking at the ticket. When his phone read ‘File Claim’ he got confused and took it to the counter to have them scan it. The retailer scanned his ticket and gave him the good news… his ticket was a $1,000,000 top-prize winner.”

After getting the news, Toledo, a Newark resident, said he started shaking. Even then he couldn’t believe what he saw and had to show the ticket to another store employee for confirmation, officials said.

Toledo said that he was “very excited” for this win and says it came at a great time for him and his extended family. He plans to pay off their student loans and buy a multi-family home for them to live in together.

• See related article: New Jersey Grandfather Finds $24M Lottery Ticket In Old Shirt
• See related article: N.J. Store Clerk Buys Old Workplace After Lottery Win

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