SALEM, Ore. (WSVN) — A man took home a lotto jackpot, but he says he almost didn’t buy the winning ticket.
Charles Svitak stopped at a 7-Eleven store to buy a Megabucks ticket from the Oregon Lottery. When he stepped up to the counter, Svitak said the clerk was holding two tickets that had been printed by mistake.
The clerk asked if he’d like to buy them, so Svitak purchased one of the two tickets and left the store.
But when he got in his vehicle, he said he thought about it and decided to go back in and buy the second ticket as well.
That second ticket turned out to be worth $7.3 million.
Svitak, who works a graveyard shift for his job, said he was in disbelief when he checked the ticket.
“The first thing I thought is that I had worked my last graveyard shift,” he said. “It was a very good day.”
Svitak immediately drove to the Oregon Lottery’s headquarters to claim his prize, without telling his wife.
“On the way home I got a new truck and put the oversized check they gave me on the windshield,” he recalled. “Then I took her out to show her truck and she realized I won the lottery. She hasn’t stopped giggling since.”
Svitak selected the lump sum option and took home $3.65 million. He and his wife said they are consulting with a financial planner, and intend to travel and purchase new cars with their winnings.