Man forgets glasses, mistakenly buys winning lottery ticket

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — A Connecticut man who accidentally bought the winning lottery ticket at a grocery store is $30,000 wealthier, thanks to a combination of not wearing his glasses and an impulse decision, according to the Connecticut Lottery.

Bob Sabo was waiting in the customer service line at the Super Stop & Shop in Fairfield, Connecticut, when he decided to buy a lottery ticket from an instant ticket vending machine instead, according to a news release. It was a spur of the moment decision for Sabo, who had never bought a lottery ticket from the machine.

Sabo didn’t have his glasses on, which resulted in him buying the wrong ticket, he told lottery officials.

“I meant to buy two $20 tickets,” he said. “Instead, I bought a ‘30X Cash’ ticket for $30 by mistake, which left me with $10 to buy another ticket.”

When he got home, Sabo discovered the 30X scratcher was a $30,000 winner. The amount is the top prize for the game, the release stated.

“Winning the way we did was a very freaky thing,” he told lottery officials, according to the release.

The Super Stop & Shop will receive a $300 check for selling the winning ticket, CT Lottery stated.