$20 million lotto ticket sold in South Los Angeles
Several lottery players who purchased their tickets in Southern California have claimed tens of millions of dollars in recent months.
Among the biggest winners in the state was Hyo Suk Jang, who won $20 million playing the SuperLotto Plus jackpot earlier this year.
The California Lottery just announced Jang as the winner of the Feb. 3 drawing. The winning ticket was purchased at Y & Y Market in Historic South-Central Los Angeles.
Jang wasn't the only person to purchase a life-changing lottery ticket in Southern California.
A $2 million-winning Powerball ticket was purchased by Sok Ban Ngeap at Thirst Quencher Liquor in Burbank. That Powerball drawing was actually held almost a year ago on Christmas Day 2023.
Steve Butkus won over $1.6 million during the April 3 Powerball drawing. Butkus purchased his ticket from an Albertsons grocery store in San Dimas.
A Mega Millions ticket sold at D & K Liquor in Van Nuys netted Amalia Navarro $1.05 million in the March 26 drawing.
Lottery drawings weren't the only lucrative games for Southern California lottery players. Three people who purchased scratcher tickets joined the millionaire club in recent months.
In Long Beach, Oscar Melendez won the $5 million grand prize on a Year of Fortune Scratcher game he purchased at a 7-Eleven on Atlantic Avenue. Jose Luis Torres also won $5 million on a scratcher purchased in Nipomo in San Luis Obispo County.
And Annette Lopez, a regular California Lottery player who has received her fair share of teasing for spending her money on a pipe dream, silenced her doubters after winning $1 million on a Power 10's Scratchers game she bought at Save Mart in Merced.
Lopez told the California Lottery that she bought the ticket during a special shopping day over Mother's Day weekend.
"I went to the store to get stuff for Mother's Day and decided to play," Lopez told the California Lottery. "At first, I wasn't sure I won. I had to get my glasses. When I looked at it again, I started tripping out. It was the best Mother's Day."
Lopez said she gets emotional talking about the life-changing money, especially as she's put up with some playful ribbing in the past for playing.
"People would always say, 'I don't know why you keep playing. You're not going to win anything,'" Lopez said.
With $10 spent and $1 million won, Lopez is trying not to gloat too much to her detractors.
The California Lottery is required to disclose the names of winners and where a winning ticket was purchased, in addition to their total winnings. Winners are also required to pay state and federal taxes on their winnings.
Retailers are also entitled to a modest reward for selling winning lottery tickets.
