Lottery player wins ‘life-changing prize.’ Now he ‘can’t seem to shake this feeling’

A longtime lottery player already had good luck playing the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “$1 Million? Seriously” game — and now it can help fund his retirement hobbies.

Stephen Vanzuiden, of Allegheny County, said he has been playing scratch-off games for 30 years. He’s had plenty of success, but he can’t help but be amazed with his recent $1 million win, Pennsylvania Lottery officials said in an Oct. 13 news release.

“I started buying this ticket when it first came out and it never let me down. I often get my money back,” he said. “I scratched the ticket at home, and it felt completely unrealistic when I saw the prize amount.”

Odds of winning the top prize in “$1 Million? Seriously” are 1-in-1,440,000. The game launched with five top prizes of $1 million.

While playing the lottery became a hobby for Vanzuiden, his win will allow him to continue his expensive hobbies of flying and collecting silver coins, Pennsylvania Lottery officials said.

“I can’t seem to shake this feeling,” he said. “This has been an amazing ride.”

Barb Algeri, the owner of the Shop ‘n Save store in West Mifflin where Vanzuiden bought his ticket, congratulated the retiree on his “life-changing prize.”

“It’s always exciting to see a local win big and goes to show winning tickets can show up anywhere,” Algeri said.

West Mifflin is a southeast suburb of Pittsburgh.