Christmas gift came late for CA lottery player — but in time for $7 million win
Last Christmas, Jerry Herrejon didn’t receive a gift from his father.
“To make up for it,” his father bought him a gift in North Hollywood the next day: a $30 Crossword Xtreme Scratchers ticket, California lottery officials said in an April 4 news release.
“Here, here’s your gift for Christmas,” Herrejon told lottery officials his father said upon handing him the ticket.
Turns out, his father’s last-minute gift would prove to be life-changing.
Herrejon played the ticket at home and learned he had won the game’s top prize of $7 million, lottery officials said.
“I was super excited,” he told lottery officials, “but I didn’t do anything until I collected my thoughts and decided what I was going to do with it before I cashed it out.”
Herrejon doesn’t usually buy scratch-off lottery tickets.
“When the jackpot is really high, he’ll get a Mega Millions or a Powerball ticket, but otherwise, he doesn’t really play the Lottery,” lottery officials said.
Herrejon told lottery officials he doesn’t have any lavish plans and will “keep things as they were before winning.”
He said he will continue to work and will “hold on to his winnings.”
“It’s better that way,” Herrejon said in the release. “Because if you start spending it, it goes away just as fast as you got it.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Christmas gift came late for CA lottery player — but in time for $7 million win."
