Oxnard Lotto Winner Plans a Lot of Golf

After 25 years of service, David Simpson had been planning for some time to make this year his last tour of duty as a warrant officer at the San Nicholas Island naval facility.

That hasn’t changed. What has changed, however, are his retirement plans.

With the $15.7 million he won in Wednesday’s California Super Lotto, the Oxnard resident will now be able to fulfill longtime dreams.

“I’m definitely going to play a lot of golf now,” Simpson said during a press conference at the Ventura Lottery office where he claimed his prize Thursday. “It’s a dream. You always win in your mind. But when it really happens, it’s unbelievable.”

Simpson, 46, won the second largest California Lottery prize ever awarded in Ventura County after he purchased five tickets Wednesday evening at the House of Spirits liquor store in Port Hueneme.

His six winning numbers--4, 10, 22, 37, 46 and 48--were confirmed after he called the lottery’s phone number and discovered he had a match.

Simpson, a bachelor, will receive checks for $787,000 each year over the next 20 years, a state lottery spokeswoman said. That works out to a little more than $600,000 a year after federal taxes.

With the money, the Wisconsin native said he plans to buy a summer residence in his home state as well as a vacation home in Lake Tahoe. He also plans to travel and help his family.

As the retailer who sold Simpson the winning ticket, George Wariach, owner of the House of Spirits, also will benefit handsomely. A onetime check for $62,960 will be his share of the winnings.