EVERETT — Isagani Almacen thought he won $28.
The 43-year-old Lynnwood man checked the Lotto ticket he bought a few days earlier in an electronic scanner and squinted at the display. His contact lenses were a bit blurry from dust and a day’s worth of allergies.
His daughter Ida, 8, helped him out.
“No, Dad, that’s two eight zero zero zero zero zero.”
On May 25, Isagani Almacen grinned as he collected a check from Washington’s Lottery for $2.8 million.
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” he said.
On May 15, the father and daughter stopped by a neighborhood 7-Eleven. He used a $20 bill to buy a Coca-Cola Classic Slurpee for himself and a Fanta Wild Cherry for Ida.
With some of the change, he purchased two $1 lottery tickets, quick picks for both the Lotto and Powerball games.
He doesn’t play that often.
“Not even every week or every month,” he said.
On May 20, Almacen returned to the convenience store to check his tickets: The Powerball was worthless; the Lotto, well, was worth a lot.
Almacen said he plans to keep his job as a postal sorter for the U.S. Postal Service. His wife will continue working too, he said.
They plan to use the winnings — a bit more than $1 million after taxes — to pay for a college education for his three children, and the rest will go into savings.
“Retirement looks a little nicer and a little sooner,” he said.
The family of five also plans to invite relatives, numbering more than 30, to a celebration.
Ida was treated to a new $50 Mario Bros. game at Best Buy. And Almacen said he’s considering replacing his contacts.
“Maybe glasses,” he said. “Very nice glasses.”
Jackson Holtz writes for the Herald of Everett.
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