onas says the winnings will help put his sons through college. (Photo: Virginia Lottery)
When the children of an Alexandria restaurant owner graduate from college, they’ll have the numbers 3-6-2-3 to thank for it.
Thanks to those four digits, in that exact order, Alemayehu Yonas is $238,000 richer – and it all started after winning $25 from a Virginia Lottery Scratcher.
Yonas originally won the $25 off a Scratcher he bought from the 7-Eleven on South George Mason Drive in Bailey’s Crossroads to purchase 25 $1 Pick 4 tickets, marking off the numbers 3, 6, 2 and 3 on each of them. He did the same thing on 26 more tickets he bought for the same drawing.
On July 14, the day he played each of those tickets, the winning numbers were 3-6-2-3, and Yonas walked away with $238,900 in winnings.
“This is my hobby,” Yonas, who owns the Abay Market restaurant in Falls Church, calmly told Virginia Lottery officials.
Yonas also said, as mentioned, that the winnings were going to help put his sons through college. He also gave $2,700 to the clerk at the 7-Eleven.
