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Woman buys $2-million lottery ticket at Compton doughnut shop. It’s not her first big win

A billboard promoting California Lottery Scratchers.
Ruby Evans won the top prize of $2 million, but also won $100,000 and $5,000.
(Kirby Lee / Associated Press )
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They say lightning never strikes twice, but the same does not apply to lottery tickets — at least for one woman.

Earlier this year, Ruby Evans bought an Instant Prize Crossword Scratcher at Sweet Time Donuts in Compton. After checking it in her car outside, she thought she’d scored a $2,000 prize.

For the record:

9:51 a.m. May 26, 2023An earlier version of the headline and photo caption on this post said that Ruby Evans won the $2-million top prize in the California Lottery twice. She won it once.

Scratch that, though. Upon scanning the ticket inside the shop, she learned she had actually won 1,000 times as much — the $2-million top prize.

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“I’ll tell you what, this is a big blessing. It’s given me a chance to pay off my bills, my mortgage, and help my daughters,” Evans told California Lottery officials.

Lucia Forseth, a formerly unhoused person, won $5 million after buying a Scratchers ticket at a Bay Area Walmart, according to the California Lottery.

May 4, 2023

This was not the first time Evans won a major sum from a lottery ticket. In 2013, she claimed $100,000 after buying a different big-winning Scratcher.

She also recently won $5,000 from a Scratcher purchased at Sweet Time Donuts, according to lottery officials.

Her good luck streak has earned her a bit of a reputation around those parts.

“They say, ‘Ruby, haven’t you won enough? Save some winners for all of us,’” Evans said.

A second $2-million ticket, also an Instant Prize Crossword Scratcher, was purchased by a different lottery player at a Union 76 gas station at the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Studio City.

The owners of that gas station and Sweet Time Donuts each received a $10,000 prize for selling the winning tickets. Both were purchased in January, KTLA reported.

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