A chance comment from his girlfriend inspired a plumber from Granville, Ohio, to begin playing the lottery and within just a few days he'd bagged a sizeable prize.
Scott Romei was taking a leisurely stroll along a Florida beach when his girlfriend noticed some of the beautiful beachside houses.
"We were looking at the million dollar beach homes, and she said: 'I want one of those,'" Romei recalled.
His answer was simple: "I'll play the lottery."
Apart from buying the occasional starch-off ticket, Romei had never been one to bother with the lottery, but he was true to his word, began chancing his luck, and met with early success when he won $168 in the Ohio Pick drawing held on Tuesday, September 23, 2014.
Still committed winning a major prize, Romei entered the US Powerball drawing the following day and won $1 million for matching all five main numbers, but not the Power Ball.
The Powerball-playing plumber had no idea he'd won until he asked his assistant to check the ticket for him on Friday morning.
"He has an app on his phone and scanned the ticket, and $1 million popped up and he freaked out," Romei said.
A million dollars is a lot of money, but beachside property in Florida is expensive and Romei is still unable to buy his girlfriend her dream home. So he plans to keep on playing the lottery and keep on hoping for an even bigger win in the future.
Not one to shirk his responsibilities, Romei also plans to keep on working.
"I'll keep taking care of my town as they need me for their plumbing, as that's what I enjoy doing most," he said.
