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Ronald Robbins, 67, of Pasadena purchased five of the instant tickets after an overnight shift at Giant grocery over the weekend, bagging the winning ticket at EZ Quick Food Market.
The grocery store worker figured to give the scratch-off games a chance since they were new, and took the games home to play, officials said. Once home, Robbins scratched the barcode to scan on the lottery app on his phone, which immediately showed a winning message.
Believing it was a fluke, Robbins continued to scratch off the rest of the tickets, which he scanned to show no winnings. Robbins once again scanned the first ticket which confirmed the $50,000 win.
Rather than tell his wife, the sleepy grocery store employee decided to tuck himself in for the night and text his wife a picture of the winning ticket while reminding her to check her phone in the morning.
Robbins told Lottery officials that he plans to pay off all of his debt with his winnings so that he can retire debt-free. He also planned to celebrate the big win with his wife.
The EZ Quick Food Market located at 231 Mountain Road in Pasadena will also celebrate with a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
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