A woman from California has won the lottery for the third time, but this time she won seven figures.
The California Lottery announced that three-time lottery winner Ruby Evans won $2 million from the Instant Prize Crossword Scratchers game.
In a press release issued on Thursday, May 25, the state lottery revealed Evans purchased her winning scratch-off ticket at Sweet Time Donuts in Compton.
Evans reportedly scratched her ticket while she sat in her car outside the donut shop, and she thought she only won $2,000.
She realized she won 1,000-times the amount after she submitted her claim form at the donut shop. Her scanned ticket revealed she won the scratch-off game’s $2 million grand prize on the store’s lottery terminal screen, according to the California Lottery.
"I’ll tell you what, this is a big blessing. It’s given me a chance to pay off my bills, my mortgage, and help my daughters. I’m having fun." Evans said in a statement to the California Lottery.
Evans told the state lottery board she recently won $5,000 from another Crossword Scratchers scratch-off game she purchased from Sweet Time Donuts in Compton. And in 2013, she reportedly won $100,000 from a different scratch-off game.
The three-time lottery winner told the California Lottery that she plans to still play scratch-off lottery games because she "loves" it so much and that people who know her personally "tease her" whenever they see her at Sweet Time Donuts.
"They say ‘Ruby, haven’t you won enough? Save some winners for all of us,’" Evans told the California Lottery.
Sweet Time Donuts is located at 159 South Santa Fe Avenue in Compton, California. The donut shop is partnered with the California Lottery. (Google Maps / Google Maps)
Sweet Time Donuts is getting a $10,000 bonus for selling Evans her $2 million ticket. More than 23,000 retail locations carry California Lottery tickets.
The California Lottery was founded in 1984 after voters approved the California State Lottery Act for the purpose of providing supplemental funding to public education, according to the lottery board’s website.
More than $41 billion has been raised for California public schools, public colleges and public educational entities.
The California Lottery reports that it gives 95 cents of every dollar raised from lottery games to public schools and colleges, lottery player prizes and retailer compensation.
"Pomona, CA USA - March 20, 2012: A collection of very popular California Lottery scratcher tickets. It is sold in many stores with a payout of various amounts. Tickets are listed at $1-10 a piece" (iStock / iStock)
During the fiscal year 2021-to-2022, the California Lottery reportedly generated more than $8.8 billion in sales and transferred approximately $2 billion to public education.
More than 95% of that $8.8 billion went back to the community in the form of prize payouts, retailer commissions and bonuses and education contributions, according to the California Lottery.