On May 19, 2018, Souami’s wife requested him to return a carton of orange juice to their local store, a task he never imagined would change his fate entirely.
As a result of this errand, Souami found himself an overnight millionaire.
At that time, Souami, a father of two residing in New Jersey, was working as an accountant for a food importing company and was financially constrained.
Being 56 years old, he, like many others in a similar position, was diligently managing their budget to cut down on expenses.
Upon returning home one day with a new purchase, his wife insisted that it was ‘too expensive’ for their tight budget.
The item in question was a $5 bottle of juice.
Given their financial circumstances, his wife urged him to return it and search for a more economical option.
So, he reluctantly got back in his car and drove from Little Ferry to the ShopRite in Hackensack.
While waiting in line, his attention was captured by an advertisement displaying the current Powerball jackpot.
Why not give it a try?
If he didn’t win, it would just be another expense to explain to his wife.
Incredibly, he won.
After returning his orange juice, he used the refund to purchase two lottery tickets.
Strangely enough, he forgot about the tickets and went to sleep without checking the numbers.
The following day, while at a carwash, he spotted a 7-Eleven store and remembered his tickets.
He then walked in and scanned them at the store’s lottery machines, feeling disappointed when the first ticket was not a winner.
How would he explain this wasted money to his wife?
Luckily, he didn’t need to worry because when he scanned the second ticket, a message appeared on the screen saying: “Must be seen by the retailer”.
Anyone else would have assumed there was an issue with the ticket.
So, he approached the cashier, who scanned the ticket and exclaimed, “Oh my god, oh my god.”
It was at this moment that she informed Souami of his massive, life-changing win.
He had just become a millionaire—and not just any millionaire, but a $315 million one.
When his incredible win became public, a press conference was held where he shared plans to finance his children’s education, who were then 20 and 17 years old.
He humorously added: “I love orange juice now.”
Who wouldn’t, after such a turn of events?