(AUSTIN) – Stephen Joyner, the president of Andante Investments, Ltd., Buttondown Management, LLC, General Partner, brought his family to Texas Lottery® headquarters in Austin to help him collect a Set for Life prize. He says snow is on the program for him and his family at Christmas, since they’ve never had a white Christmas.

His son-in-law, Doug Maxwell, also ensured that Joyner left Lottery Headquarters with a song in his ear, if not his heart. With lyrics he composed while in the shower and to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies theme, Maxwell’s trilling made it clear he wouldn’t be quitting his day job.

For Joyner, collecting the $5,000 per week prize is sweet vindication.

“I’ve been saying for years that I’m going to win the lottery, and nobody in my family believed me,” he said. “In fact, it got to be kind of a joke, because I’ve always told them that ‘when I win the Lottery,’ we’d do this or that, and now it’s really happened. They’ve made fun of me for a long time.”

Joyner had won $15 on two tickets and cashed in his tickets to buy a $5-ticket and the $10-ticket that brought him this prize that totals $5 million over 20 years.

“The fact is that the worst I’ve done playing scratch-offs is to break even, just about” he said. “I always win a prize, even if it’s a small one.”

After returning home, he sat in his favorite chair and scratched the tickets with an old, “beat-up” pocket knife he’s carried around for years.

“I saw the ‘LIFE’ symbol, and I knew right away what it meant,” he said. “That’s when all the blood drained out of my head.”

His wife, Michelle, was sitting on the porch with one of their granddaughters when Joyner walked out looking pale.

“He kept saying, ‘I hit it, I hit it,’ and I wondered what in the world it was that he could have hit,” she said. “It didn’t occur to me that he was talking about the ticket in his hand.”

Once he got past the initial excitement long enough to catch his breath, Joyner bought a fire-proof safe where he could stash the ticket.

Joyner was joined at Lottery headquarters by his wife, who is a history teacher at a school for at-risk students. His daughter, Kelly, is a language arts teacher in Aledo, and his son-in-law, Doug, will be teaching agricultural science next year also in a public school. His other son-in-law, attorney Jason Jones, was also present. The only one missing was daughter, Summer, who was unable to get away from her job as a sales representative for Bausch & Lomb.

“There is something especially fitting here, as we award Mr. Joyner his $5 million prize, because the Lottery’s mission is to generate funds for public schools, and his wife, daughter and son-in-law are teachers,” said Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Anthony J. Sadberry. “Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has sent the Foundation School Fund more than $9.6 billion to support public education. We would further like to thank the teachers in Mr. Joyner’s family for the work they do on behalf of Texas school children.”

“I have not grasped what all of this means,” Joyner said. “It hasn’t hit me yet. This experience has been more than living a dream; this has been like living out a fantasy. But I was rich before I won this; I just didn’t have any money.”

Joyner kept his lucky streak going the week after buying the big prize-winning ticket, garnering $500 twice from the same scratch game, Magnificent Millions.

“I think I’ve made believers out of my family members,” he said. “They’re always asking me why I buy ‘those lottery tickets.’ Now they know.”

Joyner and his wife will soon celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

“My wife and I have a perfect 50-50 marriage,” he said. “She decides what she thinks we ought to do, and I agree with her. I also give her my lottery winnings and she puts it in our ‘mad money’ account.”

He worked for many years at Longhorn Dodge, the oldest Dodge dealership in Fort Worth, before it closed. He is also, when called upon, a Baptist preacher.

“I’m what you might call a pinch-hitter,” he said. “When there is a church that is without a pastor for a short while, I come in to serve.”

Besides planning on having a white Christmas, Joyner says the prize money will be mostly socked away, even though there are a few things he plans to do right away.

“I plan to help out my family and also make a few minor repairs to the house,” Joyner said. “When we get home later today, I’m probably going to mow the lawn. My wife’s gardening has gotten us the yard-of-the-month award several times, so I’ll have to get the grass trimmed today.”

He bought the ticket at Jimmy’s Food Store, which is located at 1316 Sycamore School Road in Fort Worth. The retailer is eligible to receive a bonus of $10,000 for selling this ticket.

Tomorrow’s Mega Millions® jackpot is worth an estimated $53 million. Saturday’s Lotto Texas® jackpot is worth estimated at $13 million.