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Her manager at Walmart forced her to work on her day off. It made her a millionaire.

She was frustrated about the last-minute shift, but it led to an unbelievable million-dollar windfall.

lottery winner, Walmart employee, Rebeca Gonzalez, California Lottery, winning ticket, good news, lucky story, work story, jackpot, day off

A woman reacts with joy to something on her computer

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By Adam Albright Hanna,
Adam Albright Hanna
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GOOD Staff
GOOD Staff
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Oct 12, 2025

For Rebeca Gonzalez, a Walmart employee in Los Angeles, this past Labor Day was supposed to be a relaxing holiday spent barbecuing with her family. But a last-minute call from her manager demanding she come in for a three-hour shift turned her day of rest into a day of work—and ultimately, the luckiest day of her life.

“It was Labor Day, and they only needed me for three hours. I wanted to obviously be home with my family because we planned to barbecue,” Gonzalez recalled.

Frustrated but feeling she had no choice, she went to work. Throughout her shift, she had a nagging thought to buy a Scratchers ticket but was too busy to act on it. It wasn't until she was finally heading home that she passed a California Lottery vending machine and decided to buy a $10 ticket on a whim.

lottery winner, Walmart employee, Rebeca Gonzalez, California Lottery, winning ticket, good news, lucky story, work story, jackpot, day off A woman in a convenience store purchases a lottery ticket.Canva

That single, last-minute decision changed everything. When she checked the results, she discovered she had won the game's $1 million top prize.

“I couldn’t believe it!” she said.

The unexpected windfall has allowed Gonzalez and her husband to pay off their debt and they are now in the process of closing on a new home. In a surprising twist, she has decided to keep her job at Walmart.

lottery winner, Walmart employee, Rebeca Gonzalez, California Lottery, winning ticket, good news, lucky story, work story, jackpot, day off A couple celebrates the purchase of ftheir new homeCanva

And who was the first person she shared the incredible news with? The very manager who called her in that day.

“I’ve only told one person at work, and it was the manager who wanted me to stay late on a holiday," she said. "He (literally) couldn’t believe it.”

Lottery officials confirmed that Gonzalez beat odds of 2,057,388-to-1 to win. The Walmart where she bought the ticket will also receive a $5,000 bonus. For Gonzalez, what started as a canceled day off turned into the ultimate twist of fate.

lottery winner, Walmart employee, Rebeca Gonzalez, California Lottery, winning ticket, good news, lucky story, work story, jackpot, day off YouTube

This article originally appeared earlier this year.

california lotteryday offgood newsjackpotlottery winnerlucky storyrebeca gonzalezwalmart employeewinning ticketwork storypast events

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