Lottery player’s ‘lucky streak’ ends with 5th, ‘unforgettable win’ in California

Over the past year, a California lottery player has had his fair share of wins.

But Juan Silva Zarate’s most recent lottery prize was “unforgettable,” California Lottery officials said in a July 25 news release.

Leading up to his big win, Zarate had scored four $1,000 prizes on scratch-off tickets, lottery officials said.

This “lucky streak” led him to his “final, unforgettable win”: a $2 million prize on an Instant Prize Crossword Scratchers ticket he bought at a Hayward gas station, lottery officials said.

“When asked if he’d ever won before, Zarate said ‘he ganado mucho,’” a nod to his string of recent wins, lottery officials said.

Zarate told lottery officials he plans to use his prize to pay off his family’s home mortgage and invest a portion.

Hayward is about a 25-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.

This story was originally published July 28, 2025 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Lottery player’s ‘lucky streak’ ends with 5th, ‘unforgettable win’ in California."

Daniella Segura

McClatchy DC

Daniella Segura is a national real-time reporter with McClatchy. Previously, she’s worked as a multimedia journalist for weekly and daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area. Her work has been recognized by the California News Publishers Association. She is also an alumnus of the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley.