Karma isn't always immediate, but for Stephen Munoz Espinoza, his patience was rewarded swiftly after being cut in line.
A 43-year-old resident of Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida, Espinoza was in line to buy a lottery ticket at his local supermarket, when a stranger rudely cut in front of him. Many in this situation might have reacted differently than Espinoza did that day. Instead of getting angry, or causing a scene, Stephen simply maneuvered away from the ticket machine, and instead bought a '500X THE CASH' Scratch-Off game at the counter.
A Bad Day Became an Amazing Day
“It was the end of a long day, and I was tired. I stopped at Publix and was about to buy a ticket at the machine when a man cut right in front of me,” Espinoza told lottery officials.
It is a good thing he did, because the ticket that Espinoza ended up purchasing instead was a winner, and quite a significant one. The ticket netted Espinoza a hefty one million dollars, or a one-time, lump-sum payment of $820,000 which he opted for. The 43-year-old said he plans to use some of the winnings to buy a home for his family, and the store that sold him the ticket even gets a cool $2,000 bonus commission.
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Had things gone differently, Spinoza may have missed out on the winning ticket. What was at first an unfair annoyance- being cut in line- turned in to a fortuitous change of events. Keeping your cool is always the way to go, and in this case Spinoza's patience was rewarded handsomely.
The Florida Lottery twitter account shared the below post, referring to Spinoza as both a gentleman, and a (newly minted) millionaire after his calm demeanor led to the winning ticket. In the photo, he can be seen holding a check for 1 million dollars, while the story links to the official press release from the Florida Lottery.
Karma Is Powerful
The press release details: "The $50 game, 500X THE CASH, features a top prize of $25 million—the largest ever offered on a Florida Scratch-Off game—and the best odds to become an instant millionaire! The game's overall odds of winning are 1-in-4.50."
We can only imagine the reaction of the person who cut in front of Stephen that day. Let this story be a reminder of the importance of remaining calm in the face of minor grievances, and the power of karma that may have had a hand in delivering Stephen his winning ticket.
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