Latest news with #McKinleyNelson
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Vet bought a lottery ticket to get change for a pizza tip. Then he won all the dough
Talk about raising serious dough. A retired veteran in California to extremely lucky when he bought a scratch off lottery ticket to break a $100 bill to tip his pizza order. McKinley Nelson, 72, of Winters, recently picked up a pizza for his wife at Round Table but needed change from his large bill to leave a cash tip. Nelson, who said he's played the California Lottery since its inception 40 years ago, went next door to Winters Wine & Liquor, bought the ticket, then picked up his order. 'I had a $100 bill. So, I got two tickets,' Nelson told lottery officials. 'I think it was $20, and I went to the truck and started scratching.' 'I think this one's a million, but I'm not sure,' Nelson said he told his wife about a Loteria Grande scratcher. The cheesy remark turned out to be correct, and Nelson is now $1 million richer. 'So, my wife almost had a heart attack,' Nelson told lottery officials about her reaction. 'And then we had to go in and buy the pizza. It was all because of her, she's the one that likes the pizza.' Nelson said he plans to use the winnings to pay off his home, save a little, and buy a camper van for a road trip with his wife so that they can visit both their families.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Man buys lottery ticket to get change for pizza tip — and hits $1 million jackpot
A man who bought a California Lottery scratch-off ticket to break a $100 bill for a tip on his pizza order came away $1 million richer, officials reported. McKinley Nelson ordered a pizza for his wife but found that he needed change to leave a cash tip when they arrived at a Round Table restaurant in Winters to pick it up, the California Lottery said in a Tuesday, June 10, news release. So he went next door to Winters Wine & Liquor before picking up their food, lottery officials said. 'I had a $100 bill. So, I got two tickets,' Nelson told lottery officials. 'I think it was $20, and I went to the truck and started scratching.' One, a Loteria Grande scratcher, seemed promising. 'I think this one's a million, but I'm not sure,' Nelson said he told his wife. He was correct. 'So, my wife almost had a heart attack,' Nelson said. 'And then we had to go in and buy the pizza. It was all because of her, she's the one that likes the pizza.' Nelson, 72, a retired veteran, plans to use the money to pay off his home, put some in savings and buy a camper van, lottery officials said. He said he's been playing the lottery for 40 years. 'It took a long time to win,' he said. Winters is about a 30-mile drive west from Sacramento.
