California Man's Unconventional Strategy Nets Him $5M Lottery Scratcher

It was all about the fives for a man who recently won $5 million after buying a Scratchers ticket in Irvine, California.

Alec Bucur’s strategy was simple, if not somewhat unconventional: buy only the fifth ticket on the stack of Millionaire Bucks Scratchers at the Chevron gas station at 5425 Alton Parkway, according to an April 27 press release by the California Lottery.

The idea came to him after asking the clerk how much the last winning ticket was worth. After learning it was worth $500 and that it was ticket No. 5 in the stack, Bucur became a regular at the station, employing his unscientific strategy to buy his Scratchers.

Eventually, it paid off.

“Number five in the series was worth five million dollars,” Bucur told the California Lottery. “I was just gunning for it, and now I’m a multimillionaire.”

For its part, the Chevron got a $25,000 bonus for selling Bucur his winning ticket.

Bucur told the California Lottery that he’s not a big spender and doesn’t need a mansion or a Ferrari. “I’m going to do some traveling and let this money grow,” he said.

The lottery noted that in addition to Bucur, someone else recently won big in Southern California: Jose Sanchez won $1 million after buying a Power 10’s Scratcher at Shahkot Gas & Market, located at 1727 East Dyer Road in Santa Ana.

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