Lottery player didn’t think he won — until clerk confirms $1 million California prize

A test drive after New Year’s Eve repairs to his vehicle ended up landing a Desert Hot Springs man $1 million, California Lottery officials said.

After replacing the head gasket on his vehicle, Justin Beattie grabbed three $3 winning tickets waiting to be cashed in and headed to the Smoke Depot, lottery officials said in a Wednesday, April 2, news release.

He’s been buying scratchers tickets there for 27 years, officials said.

Beattie collected his earlier winnings and used the cash to buy one $10 Triple Red 777 scratcher, the lottery said. He got back in his pickup truck and began scratching.

“I usually scratch the winning numbers and then scratch my numbers one at a time until I reach the bottom,” Beattie said. As he neared the bottom with no matches, he thought he’d picked a losing ticket.

Then he got a match on the bottom row — and couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the prize.

Beattie had just won $1 million.

He was so excited he had the clerk scan the ticket to confirm the unbelievable prize, Beattie told lottery officials.

Desert Hot Springs is about a 15-mile drive north of Palm Springs.

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Lottery player didn’t think he won — until clerk confirms $1 million California prize."