CALIFORNIA – California Lottery announced, June 18, a California dad won $5 million from the Maximum Millions scratcher while giving his wife ‘mommy time.’

Eugene Brown, of Menifee, ​​said he has pulled off some pretty good pranks on his wife over the years. But this time, becoming a millionaire was no joking matter.

“One time I told her one of her favorite singers had passed and then recorded her reaction,” said Brown.

This one would have been the perfect setup. 

Brown was providing his wife much needed respite

Brown was asked to provide his wife with some much-needed respite, and he obliged. 

He took their toddler out for breakfast and a walk, and on the way, stopped by the ARCO ampm on the corner of Newport and Menifee Road in Menifee to pick up two Maximum Millions scratchers. 

It’s a stop he considers regular entertainment, and today it just happened to line up with his wife’s request for some relief. 

“If she hadn’t asked me to go out, I might not have gone to the store,” said Brown. “Or I would’ve gone later, and somebody else would’ve gotten the ticket. But everything lined up in the universe.”

‘It’s $5 million. Could you please take the garbage out?’

Brown returned home, and his wife took over childcare duties again. 

Indisposed for a moment, he scratched his games upstairs. First, he won $75. Moving on to the next game he was soon met by his own disbelief scratching the second ticket. Was it $5,000? Was it $50,000? He wasn’t sure. He went downstairs to his spouse for confirmation. 

“Babe,” said Brown, “could you take a look at this?” 

His wife looked at the game and replied, unmoved, “It’s $5 million. Could you please take the garbage out? I’m not in the mood right now.” 

“No, I’m serious,” Eugene replied. “We won $5 million!”

 “You’d better not be lying,” Mrs. Brown said. 

But Brown, who may be an unrepentant prankster most days, was not lying this day. They had won the top prize, one of only three, for the Maximum Millions game. 

‘It’s all part of giving back’

Brown is also aware of the California Lottery’s mission of providing extra money to public schools, and that hits close to home for him and his wife.

“It’s all part of giving back,” he said. “My wife is a teacher, and education to me has always been paramount.”

In the end, for his win, Brown credits his faith.

“I’m not lucky. I’m blessed,” he said. “I’m going to invest my winnings, pay off my house, and put it all in a trust to work on creating some generational wealth for my children.”

Supporting Education in California 

Public schools across California use Lottery funds to enhance their career technical education programs at both the high school and community college level. 

Lottery funds provide critical program support, as well as funding that eases the material burden for students so they can stay in school. 

To find out more about the funds distributed by the California Lottery to public education across the state, visit www.calottery.com/who-benefits.