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Best birthday present? $1M prize from scratcher

Posted at 4:01 PM, Jun 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-03 19:01:41-04

A San Diego man got a cool 30th birthday present when he played a $10 Silver & Gold scratcher ticket and snagged a $1 million prize, state lottery officials announced Friday.

Russell Coons purchased the ticket May 23 -- right before his birthday -- at the 7-Eleven store at 3090 Clairemont Drive. Just a week prior, he'd won a $500 prize on a scratcher.

Lottery officials said Coons began playing scratcher games about three weeks before his big win.

Coons, who was already planning a trip to Hawaii with his fiancee, said he would buy a house and invest the remainder.