Man wins $5 million from lottery ticket in Waterford and plans to stay mum about his plans
The Bait Barn store in Waterford sold a winning lottery ticket for $5 million, according to a California Lottery press release Tuesday.
Jose Sanchez bought the winning “2023 Scratcher” ticket in Waterford and told officials he “wanted to remain private about his plans for the money,” according to the release.
A total of $10 million was won between Sanchez and another man in Kern County, the press statement said.
Eduardo Pingquian was “angling for a big win” when he bought a “$5,000,000 Extreme Cash Scratchers” ticket, the release said. His ended up winning the biggest prize. He purchased the winning ticket from one of the two Faststrip gas station on Cecil Avenue in Delano.
The owner of the Bait Barn on Yosemite Boulevard in Waterford, Avtar Sra, was also given a retailer bonus of $25,000 for selling the scratcher to Sanchez. Sra told the California Lottery he will be giving some of the bonus to his employees and putting the rest into the business.
Sra has owned the bait shop and other stores in the area for nearly two decades, according to the release. He said selling California Lottery tickets brings in foot traffic. “People buy tickets when they fish Don Pedro Lake and Turlock Lake,” Sra told officials.
The release does not say if the Waterford winner, Sanchez, resides locally.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 1:03 PM.
