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Man forgets glasses, mistakenly buys winning lottery ticket

Posted at 1:27 PM, Jun 29, 2015
and last updated 2015-06-29 13:27:32-04

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.

“I bought the [winning] ticket by accident," Bob Sabo told the CT Lottery, which released this photo of the Connecticut man with his prize on June 25, 2015.

“I bought the [winning] ticket by accident," Bob Sabo told the CT Lottery, which released this photo of the Connecticut man with his prize check on June 25, 2015.

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.