His wife scolded him for buying lottery scratchers. Then he won $1 million

After an El Dorado County man’s wife had criticized him for purchasing lottery tickets, he started hiding in his own house to scratch them.

Hermenegildo Beltran-Meza was in the bathroom when he discovered that one of his $10 California Black Premium Scratchers was a $1 million winner, the California Lottery reported in a Tuesday press release.

“You said I’m never going to win and there I won, there’s proof,” he told his wife, delivering the good news.

The ticket was sold at Holiday Foods in Placerville, and the store owner will get a $5,000 bonus, according to the release.

The couple told the lottery they plan to use the money for retirement.

The odds of a $1 million payday – the top prize for a $10 Black Premium – are 1 in 2,002,350 according to the California Lottery website. There’s also a $20 variety with a top prize of $5 million (1 in 2,422,068).

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 3:38 PM with the headline "His wife scolded him for buying lottery scratchers. Then he won $1 million."