Bay Area man won $7.5 million from a lottery scratchers; says he won't be quitting his job

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - One could say Joel McCauley finds comfort in routine. He has a regular ritual he often practices on his way to work: He stops in at his favorite Mountain View store to pick up a California Lottery scratcher, lottery officials said. 

It’s proven to be a lucrative ritual. Over the roughly decade or two of playing, McCauley estimated he’s won "10K a couple of times."

But McCauley’s latest scratcher has now made him a millionaire. 

What we know:

During a recent stop at his go-to Liquor, Tobacco & More on Rengstorff Avenue, he decided to play the California Lottery's 2025 Scratchers game. The purchase price for each ticket is $25. 

Joel McCauley purchased a winning scratchers ticket worth $7.5 million at the Liquor, Tobacco & More on Rengstorff Avenue in Mountain View. (Google Maps via California Lottery )

McCauley did a quick scan of the game inside the store to see if he won anything. 

What they're saying:

"At first, I thought it was $7,500," he was quoted as saying by the California Lottery.

SEE ALSO: California Lottery player thought he won $1K; turns out he actually won $1M

That would have been a sizable win in itself, but after he got outside and back into his truck, McCauley decided to take a look at his ticket again, this time, using the California Lottery app on his phone to scan the scratcher.

"That’s when he discovered he had actually won the top prize in the 2025 game, an astonishing $7.5 million!" state lottery officials said.

The astonishing win didn’t prompt McCauley to veer far from his usual routine.

He made a quick stop to drop off his winning ticket at home for safe keeping, and he promptly returned to his plans for the day. 

"As if nothing unusual had just happened, Joel went off to work," officials said.

Dig deeper:

The 2025 Scratches is the lottery's first $25 game. The odds of winning the top $7.5 million prize are one in more than 3 million.  

Won't quit his job

For McCauley, despite his new millionaire status, officials said he's not making any major changes to his everyday life and wants to keep working. 

"He doesn’t plan on quitting his job," officials said, noting McCauley also planned to stick to his well-known routines.   

What we don't know:

What McCauley does for a living has not been revealed. Lottery officials said he "respectfully declined" to share that information.  

"He intends to invest his winnings and keep driving his truck to work every day," lottery officials said, "always stopping by his favorite store to pick up the latest California Lottery game."