First, Feras Al Younes managed to avoid some bad luck. And ran smack into some seriously good luck.
Al Younes, 48, who lives in the Lutz suburbs north of Tampa, nearly ran out of gas before he pulled into a Circle K convenience store in New Tampa.
Then Al Younes decided to buy a Florida Lottery ticket — a $10 Gold Rush Supreme scratch-off that promised potential winnings of up to $2 million — to pass the time while he waited to fuel up.
“I was standing at the pumps when I suddenly realized I was holding a $2 million winning ticket!” Al Younes told Florida Lottery officials, according to a news release. “I was so excited that I left before my tank was full!”
The lucky convenience store, which will get a $4,000 bonus for selling him the winning ticket, is at 17402 Dona Michelle Blvd. in New Tampa. The lucky number that matched one of 15 scratch-off possibilities on the card was 2.
Al Younes turned in his winning ticket to Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee the Friday before Thanksgiving, according to lottery officials. He could not reached for comment by the Tampa Bay Times. He opted to take a one-time, lump-sum payment of $1.76 million.