Error Sparks Big Lotto Win
As it turns out, there’s something to be said for being in a rut.
When Frank Armenta bought his twice-weekly SuperLotto ticket last week, he noticed it was checked for a lump-sum payment. The Santa Ana resident always bought tickets for payments over 26 years. Always Quick Pick, computer-generated numbers.
A creature of habit, he made the clerk at the Chevron Food Mart in Tustin take it back and issue a new ticket. New numbers.
Numbers that ended up winning the 21-year-old car salesman and a co-worker $19 million.
“That turned out to be a $19-million good choice,” said Herman Dustman, lottery sales manager for SuperLotto in the Los Angeles and Orange County area.
Armenta and ticket co-owner Khosrow “Dino” Sarlak, 39, of Orange--who both work at Joe MacPherson Toyota in Tustin--haven’t shown up to work since.
“I’m just sitting here beside myself,” Sarlak said while claiming the winning numbers at the lottery office Monday afternoon. “It’s the best investment I could ever make on a dollar. It’s amazing what can happen.”
They had bought tickets together twice weekly for two years, though all they ever won was $5.
On Sunday morning, when Sarlak heard that someone from Tustin had won the jackpot, he tracked down Armenta to make him check the ticket.
“I had to force him to go,” Sarlak said. “It took maybe 20 minutes to convince him. He said he needed to sell a car because he hadn’t made any money that day.”
Armenta drove to the Chevron station at Bryan Avenue and Jamboree Road, where he bought the ticket, to confirm the numbers.
“The guy’s color turned totally yellow,” said cashier Balwinder Nijjar. “He was so nervous, he couldn’t even stand. He ran out of the store and he burned rubber. I thought he was going to get in a car accident.”
Armenta high-tailed it back to work to tell Sarlak.
“He was acting very, very different,” Sarlak said. “He asked me to go through the backdoor because he wanted to talk to me. . . . He was shaking just like a little Chihuahua.”
Sarlak and Armenta returned to the gas station twice to double-check their numbers. Even now, after feasting with their wives Sunday night on lobster and filet mignon, they’re still in disbelief.
Neither returned to work Sunday or Monday. Sarlak left the building, saying he had a “family emergency” to take care of. And Armenta has yet to call in. “Right now, I’m MIA,” he said, chuckling.
Of course, co-workers at the Toyota dealership are sorry they weren’t invited to join the pool, but colleague Fred Coates said: “It couldn’t have happened to two nicer guys.”
Their first winnings should arrive in three to four weeks. That’s $475,000--$342,000 after taxes--to split. Their last payment in 26 years will be $969,000 before taxes.
For now, they might take a little vacation. And Armenta says his wife--they celebrate their one-year anniversary today--might want a bigger ring.
Neither Armenta nor Sarlak has plans for a new car. The Toyota Camrys and Volvos they own are running just fine. But, Armenta joked, “we might go buy the dealership.”
