Man’s Patience Pays off With $1M Lottery Win After Stranger Cut in Front of Him at Ticket Machine

We have all heard age-old sayings like “patience is a virtue” and “slow and steady wins the race.” This man from Florida proved that patience can indeed be a virtue and also bear a golden fruit when buying lottery tickets. According to PEOPLE, Stephen Munoz Espinoza, a 43-year-old man hailing from Palm Beach County, bagged $1 million in lottery win after a stranger cut in front of him at a lottery ticket machine inside a local supermarket.

Espinoza told The Florida Lottery that he had stopped at the Publix in his hometown after a “long day,” but he didn’t let the rude stranger, who had brushed past him to reach the ticketing machine faster, bother him. Any other person in this situation would have gotten involved with the stranger in a verbal spat but Espinoza decided to keep his calm and move to the counter and get his lottery ticket. 

"Instead of saying something, I decided I'd just buy a ticket at the counter instead," Espinoza said. He purchased a 500X THE CASH Scratch-Off game and surprisingly enough, he was the grand winner. "I can't believe I won a million dollars!" Espinoza exclaimed upon his unexpected windfall, reports Western Mass News.

Espinoza’s patience rewarded him with a million dollars as he went ahead to claim his prize money at the Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. The Delray Beach resident reportedly decided to receive a one-time, lump-sum amount of $820,000. Anyone who wins a lottery always plans to invest that money or make lavish purchases and Espinoza did just that. He and his wife are planning to purchase a new house for their family after Espinoza’s lucky win.

Meanwhile, the Publix grocery store located on Northeast 5th Avenue in Delray Beach will receive a $2000 bonus commission for selling the ticket and Espinoza will take home the rest of the amount. Espinoza’s luck was surely in his favor because the odds of winning a 500X THE CASH Scratch-Off game ticket are reportedly 1 in 4.5. According to Times Now, a $25 million jackpot is the only prize greater in value in the game which features prizes starting from $100.

In a similar story, a man from Michigan who usually does not play the lottery ended up winning $1 million dollar prize money after he decided to buy a $5 ticket for a Fast Cash Game from the change he received at a gas station. "I looked over the ticket while I was walking out of the store and when I saw I'd won the jackpot, I completely lost it,” Matthew Spaulding, 41, told state Lottery officials, per Times Now.