A Bay Area woman who was unhoused as recently as 2017 has seen a dramatic turn of fortune with a $5 million win on a California Lottery Scratchers ticket.
Lucia Forseth was no longer homeless when she recently bought a 2023 Scratchers ticket at the Walmart Supercenter in Pittsburg, and now she is among California's newest multimillionaires, according to the California Lottery.
"I only bought one ticket," Forseth told the California Lottery. "I closed my eyes and picked that one, and it won! I first thought I’d won a free ticket, but I checked, and it said I won $5 million!"
Forseth went to the Walmart for an oil change and said she scratched the jackpot ticket right outside the store. The fact that she bought a ticket called "2023" has deep meaning for her.
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"Six years ago, I was homeless. This year I am getting married, getting my associate degree, and won $5 million," she told lottery officials. "You never think you have a chance to win it. It is just random. Being homeless just six years ago, I never thought it would happen to someone like me."
Forseth plans to buy a house and invest the rest of the money, the lottery said.
