Winning lottery ticket worth $5 million sold at SLO County store, owner says

Someone bought a winning California State Lottery ticket worth $5 million at a San Luis Obispo County convenience store, according to a claim filed with the lottery.

The Scratchers ticket was purchased at the Cambria General Store on Aug. 9, business co-owner Benan Akkare said.

Akkare said he learned about the likely win on Tuesday from Bryan Rounds, lottery district sales representative.

“We were very excited,” Akkare said Wednesday.

Rounds intends to return Thursday to deliver a big, ceremonial check and some signs to the store at 850 Main St. in Cambria’s West Village.

Was winning lottery ticket sold at SLO County store?

Carolyn Becker, lottery deputy director, said her sales team has confirmed that claim has been filed. Now, she explained, the lottery system must make sure the claim is valid.

“We have to verify that the winner is indeed a winner,” Becker said Wednesday

The name of the potential winner hasn’t been announced yet, Becker said, although the names of lottery winners are public record in California.

In the case of draw games, in which tickets must match numbers drawn on a specific date, the California lottery knows immediately that there’s been a winner — but not who the winner is — until the claim is filed.

“Scratchers are a very different animal,” the Cal Poly graduate said, because the person who buys the ticket can determine immediately whether they won money.

Scratchers tickets cost $1 to $30 apiece.

Becker said this claim involves a 100X Scratchers ticket, which retails for $20 and has a top prize of $5 million.

Historically, the highest amount won by a Scratchers ticket holder was $20 million, Becker said.

How California lottery determines if a win is valid

According to Becker, validating a lottery win can take from six weeks to months.

The vetting process involves “a California Lottery law enforcement officer interviewing the claimant before that person is declared a winner,” according to a lottery document detailing what happens after a big win. “The interview involves questions about the point of sale for the winning ticket.”

According to the site, “unusual circumstances” can include missing information in the prize claim packet, failure to produce the winning ticket and unclear answers to security questions.

California State Lottery considers any win of $1 million or more to be significant, Becker said.

The system process more than 10,000 prize claims a month, she said, and roughly 120 wins of $1 million or more are reported annually.

What happens next?

According to Akkare, Sean Farhoud, the Cambria General Store’s general manager, sold the winning ticket during his Aug. 9 shift.

Farhoud has sold winning lottery tickets at other jobs, he said, although this one represents the biggest win in the bunch.

He sold a $200,000 ticket in Gardena and a $129,000 one in Santa Barbara, Farhoud told customers at Cambria General Store on Wednesday.

“How cool to have another winner in our town,” one customer said.

Akkare and his partner, Elia Akhare, bought the General Store business Aug. 1 from Luis Gutierriz and his son, Chris Gutierriz, who had owned and operated it since 2005.

Akkare and Akhare, who are cousins, have been working since then to revamp the store.

There’s a new sign out front and a resurfaced driveway.

The front façade of the gas pump island is in the midst of being replaced, liquor shelving is being updated and other repairs are in the works.

“We’ve just started,” Akkare said.