A retired Irving postal worker who worried about his bills last week is now interviewing investment advisers after winning $1 million from a Texas Lottery scratch-off card.
James Clay bought the $10 ticket at an Arlington 7-Eleven on Cooper Street near Interstate 30 over the weekend.
"I had an all-week feeling that I'm going to hit something big," he said.
He cashed it in Tuesday at the Dallas Lottery redemption center, less the amount the state withholds for taxes.
"A million dollars -- and that blows me away," he said. "And you go down there and you turn it in and they hand you a check for $750,000, and you just [say], 'That's a lot of money.'"
Clay was a scratch-off card player for years. He won jackpots of $1,000 several times and $10,000 in 2011 but said he probably spent more than that on tickets.
"I played and played and played. And my wife has been bugging me about that, not wanting me to do it," he said. "All she says now is, 'Don't do it anymore.' She didn't turn down my check when I got it."
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Clay plans to share the money with family, pay off bills, travel with his wife and invest the rest.
He won the top jackpot in the Black Series IV-Limited Edition game.
The Texas Lottery Commission said four more $1 million winners are still available in the series.
