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Ft. Wayne man wins $1M on way to pick up dinner

Posted at 4:11 PM, Apr 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-11 16:12:51-04

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- A Fort Wayne man running out to pick up dinner wound up getting more than he expected when a scratch-off lotto ticket won him $1 million.

Ernie Johnson's wife Sherrill sent him out on April 2 to get something for dinner. On his way, he stepped at the Get to Go at 3505 Wayne Trace and purchased a Hoosier Lottery ticket.

When he saw he'd won $1 million, Johnson said he just "turned around and went back home."

"Winning a million dollars delayed our appetite," he said.

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Johnson's wife, a retired social worker, said she didn't believe him at first because of how close to April Fool's Day it was. When the couple told their adult daughter, who is expecting, she fainted.

The couple, who has two grown daughters and two grandchildren – with a third on the way – said they plan to tithe to their church and invest the rest of their winnings.

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