LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Nobody likes being called into work on their day off. Heck, filmmaker Kevin Smith even made an entire movie franchise based on that premise.
But for a Los Angeles County Walmart employee, a last-minute call-in would ultimately change her life for the better.
It was Labor Day and Rebecca Gonzalez, like most people lucky enough to have off on a holiday, was looking forward to spending time with loved ones.
“I wanted to obviously be home with my family because we planned to barbecue,” Gonzalez told the California Lottery.
But those plans were foiled when her employer asked her to come in and work, which she begrudgingly agreed to.
Her entire abbreviated three-hour shift was busy, Gonzalez said. So busy that she forgot to buy a lottery ticket during her break like she’d planned.
After finally clocking out for the day, surely eager to return to the comfort of her home and the promise of barbecue, she passed by a row of California Lottery vending machines, which jogged her memory.
“I didn’t remember I was going to buy a Scratchers [ticket] until I left for the night and passed by the machines,” she said.
She stopped, put in $10, and received a Single Double Triple Scratchers game. With overwhelming odds against her favor — 2,057,388 to 1 to be exact — that $10 investment netted her the game’s $1 million grand prize.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Gonzalez said.
The jackpot has helped Gonzalez pay off all of her debt, and she told the California Lottery that she and her husband are in the process of closing on a new home.
Despite the life-changing event, Gonzalez is still clocking in like normal at the Walmart in the City of Industry and doesn’t have any plans to sail off into the sunset any time soon.
In fact, until now, she’s managed to keep her good fortune mostly a secret from her coworkers.
“I’ve only told one person at work,” Gonzalez said. “It was the manager who wanted me to stay late on a holiday.”
He was equally as shocked, Gonzalez said.
The Walmart where Gonzalez works received a $5,000 payout from the state lottery for selling the winning ticket, officials said.
Gonzalez wasn’t the only recent big winner in the California Lottery.
Three players also won jackpots playing the $1 Million Ultimate Cash Scratchers game. Wayne Sims purchased his ticket in San Francisco; Alex Vela bought one at Circus Liquors in North Hollywood and Robert Befriends purchased his winning ticket from Palma Liquor in La Palma.
A 7-Eleven in Burbank also sold a $1 million-winning Multiplier Craze Scratchers ticket to R. Abrahamian.
Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time, even if you’re not supposed to be there.
