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.
