Robert Gonzales said he would have been thrilled to win a gift card filling out sweepstakes claim forms after a move into a new apartment drained his bank account.
Instead, the 47-year-old Lakewood resident woke up Monday morning to the sight of the Publisher’s Clearing House Prize Patrol at his front door with a check for $1 million.
“I was hoping to get a $500 Walmart gift card,” Gonzales said. “I’ve lived in Denver all my life..the landlord sold my other place, and I fell behind on bills saving for pet deposits and all the other huge costs of moving.”
Gonzales said when he first saw , he thought it was a prank.
“I’ve never won anything, ever, before this…it’s still hard to comprehend,” he added.
Gonzales said he’s taking a few days off from his job in health insurance sales but has no plans of quitting or moving out of his apartment.
Instead, he plans on paying off bills and doing something nice for his parents, sisters and nieces.
“I’m pretty low-key as it is and not really comfortable with a lot of attention,” Gonzales said. “I haven’t had an actual vacation in five or six years, so I may end up doing something like that down the road.”
According to Publisher’s Clearing House, Gonzales is the 80th winner of $1 million or more in the company’s 62-year history.
“No matter how many winners we surprise or how much money we give away, it’s a thrill for us every single time,” said Dave Sayer, who heads the Prize Patrol and who has presented virtually every major Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes prize since 1981.
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abriggs
