To some, patience is a virtue.

To Lou Maes of Portland, it’s what he had while he waited for help at the Hawthorne Fred Meyer in Portland. Lou’s 20 Times the Luck Scratch-it ticket got stuck in the Oregon Lottery® Instant Ticket Vending Machine, and he stood by as one of Fred Meyer’s helpful customer service people freed the ticket.

That short wait resulted in a $20,000 prize for Lou. Lou matched the lucky number “48” in Game 7 on his Scratch-it ticket. He instantly won the matching $1,000 prize. When he scratched the Lucky Bonus box on his ticket, he uncovered “20X,” which multiplied his prize to $20,000. Lou was in disbelief when he showed the winning ticket to his wife. At first, she thought he had won $500, but Lou told her to “keep looking.” A closer look by his wife convinced her that Lou was a $20,000 winner.