A New Jersey man who followed his wife’s instruction to return a bottle of orange juice ended up buying the ticket that won the $315.3 million Powerball jackpot.
On May 1, the day of the drawing, 56-year-old Little Ferry resident Tayeb Souami bought a bottle of orange juice for $5 at a ShopRite in Hackensack.
His wife told him to return it because she found it on sale for $2.50 elsewhere, he said at a press conference.
Souami went to the customer service counter with the bottle. A Powerball sign advertising $306 million caught his eye.
He said to himself,
“I like the number.”
Souami used the refund from the orange juice to buy two tickets.
The next day, the win unfolded dramatically.
He planned to work in his backyard but decided to wash his car first. While stopped at a red light, he noticed a 7-Eleven and went inside to check his tickets.
The first ticket he scanned showed no prize. The second ticket looked promising but the scanner instructed him to see the cashier.
Souami asked the cashier to check, telling her,
“Can you check? I think your machine isn’t working.”
The cashier reacted immediately and repeated,
“Oh my God.”
Her reaction made his heart race. She finally said one word:
“big.”
It took Souami two hours to get home because his hands were shaking, he said.
When he walked in, his wife asked why he took so long. She cried when he showed her the lottery form.
Souami told reporters he felt “very emotional” as he entered the press conference with a broad smile.
When asked why he delayed coming forward, he said plainly,
“Actually, my work.”
Souami, who is originally from Africa, worked as an accountant for a food importing company.
He said he wanted to make sure the company’s more than 200 people would be okay before leaving.
“
I have to take care of them. It’s not so easy to quit just like that.
“
Souami has since quit his job and plans to remain in his New Jersey hometown for now, he said.
The first uses he named for the winnings include paying off his college loans, funding his daughter’s college next year, and paying off his home.
He had just refinanced his house and received the check the week before, he said.
Souami is the second New Jersey resident to claim a major jackpot this year.
In March, a Vernon resident won the $533 million Mega Millions prize.
Souami, a father of two, chose the more than $183 million cash payout.
He joked at the end,
“I love orange juice now.”