A new retiree from Union City received a nice bonus after scratching his way to $3 million.
Dave Sabol, 57, spent 35 years working in a heavy industrial machine shop.
Throughout his life, Sabol has enjoyed playing scratch-off tickets from the Pennsylvania Lottery which he often purchases at a Country Fair at 76 N. Main St. in Union City. That lottery habit proved well worth it on Aug. 7.
57-year-old Dave Sabol from Union City (left) stands next to AJ Kaye, Erie area sales manager for the Pennsylvania Lottery. On Sept. 9, Sabol was announced as the winner of the $3 million grand prize from the scratch off ticket game Golden Ticket.
Winning ticket sold: Scratch-off ticket with $3 million prize sold in Erie County
The ‘luckiest day’ of Dave Sabol’s life
On the evening of Aug. 7 after dinner with friends and his wife Joan, Sabol stopped at Country Fair to purchase more tickets. As fate would have it, the machine Sabol often purchases from was occupied, which caused Sabol to pivot to a nearby machine.
“The lady at the machine was digging and digging in her purse, so I wasn’t going to question her. I just went over to the other machine kitty-corner to that one.”
From the other machine, Sabol purchased two $30 tickets including the $3,000,000 Golden Ticket which offers five top prizes of $3 million.
An example of the Golden Ticket scratch off game from the Pennsylvania Lottery is displayed at the Pennsylvania Lottery office in Erie at 4802 Pittsburgh Avenue. The $3,000,000 Golden Ticket is a $30 game that offers top prizes of $3 million.
Sabol took home the tickets and saw the matching numbers with the prize amount below them equating to the $3 million grand prize.
“That’s how it went,” Sabol said. “I scratched them off and then about filled my pants. It was the luckiest day of my life.”
In order to check if this was a legitimate win, Sabol asked his wife to pull up the Pennsylvania Lottery app on her phone.
When the app didn’t work, Sabol ran back to the Country Fair and verified that he had won $3 million dollars.
“That’s when it settled in that I was feeling a little different in a good way,” Sabol said.
The Union City Country Fair will be receiving a $10,000 selling bonus.
“Dave’s decision to try a different lottery machine is a great reminder that winning lottery tickets can turn up anywhere,” said Drew Svitko, Pennsylvania Lottery executive director. “It only takes one ticket to win.”
What does Sabol plan on doing with his winnings?
Sabol kept the ticket safe over the weekend while contacting a lawyer friend who advised him to speak with a financial planner.
Sabol then claimed his winnings with the Pennsylvania Lottery on Aug. 11. The money was enough to make Sabol decide it was time to retire.
With his new money, Sabol says he really doesn’t know what he will do first.
“There’s lots of ideas,” Sabol said. “We’re not positive on what we’re going to do first. There’s less financial worries and more financial worries. It’s a weighing game so we’ll find out.”
A news release from the Pennsylvania Lottery states that the Sabols plan to use the money to build their dream home and do some traveling.
From January: Erie County PA retailer sells $1.5 million winning scratch-off ticket
Sabol did say that he is in fact done playing scratch-off tickets after his big win.
“If someone buys me some then I will scratch them off, but for now I’m done buying them.” Sabol said. “It’s someone else’s turn to win.”
Sabol was very appreciative of his winnings.
“Thank you, PA Lottery,” he said.
Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Union City retiree scratches way to $3 million with winning lottery ticket