Dad in financial distress takes back fruit juice to the store and returns with $315 million

Life can take surprising turns, and for Tayeb Souami, a simple errand led to an extraordinary outcome. What started as a trip to return a carton of orange juice ended with him winning a staggering $315 million in the lottery. At the time of his win in 2018, Souami was a married father of two from New Jersey, according to Indy100.

Despite working as an accountant for a food importer, the then 56-year-old was still struggling financially. He had reportedly refinanced his home to cover the cost of his kids' college tuition and so his wife was adamant about spending money to a minimum. That is why she sent her husband back to a shop to return a $5 bottle of juice, stating that it was "too expensive" and that he could get juice for a lesser amount somewhere else. So once he returned to the store on May 19, he saw a sign for the Powerball jackpot at the customer service counter and purchased two tickets using the money he got after returning the orange juice, according to CBS New York.

The next day, Souami nearly forgot about the tickets until he stopped at a 7-Eleven on his way to get his car washed. Remembering the tickets, he decided to check them. "When I went inside, I scanned the first ticket. It wasn't the winner and the second ticket was good. That day, it said, 'Must be seen by the retailer,'" Souami said at a press conference. He thought the machine was not working, but the woman at the counter checked and uttered, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" and then told him he had won "big, very big." He recalled, "I'm an accountant. I like to see the numbers. I know how to read the numbers, but I was scared to see the numbers."

Souami then saw that he had won the jackpot. He shared that it took him two hours to fill out the form because his hands were shaking. He then returned home and told his wife about the big win and she couldn't believe it. "It was a very emotional day for me," he expressed. He went on to share that he quit his job not because of the lottery money but because he had to work every single day. When asked if he tried his luck at the lottery regularly at the press conference, he answered that he does it occasionally when he likes the numbers or if there is a big jackpot. The 56-year-old also mentioned that he wanted to use the money for his children's education, which was his priority. 

Miriam Long from Christiansburg, Virginia, also won about 1 million dollars in March 2024. The woman thought she would win a cash prize, but not this much. She was interested in buying a Mega Million jackpot known for its $800 plus award. She went to buy that lottery and accidentally ended up getting a Powerball ticket. According to her, it's the "best mistake of her life." She let the computer choose the numbers on her ticket randomly. She didn't expect that a mistake would lead her to win big time.

This article originally appeared 3 months ago.