Noel Resident Lottery Ticket Wins Him 1 Million Payout
Leonardo Angeles of Noel won $1 million in the Missouri Lottery this summer.
The owner of Angeles Auto Service for 17 years, Angeles enjoys his job and has a love for horses. He is a single father of two girls, Julianna, 13, and Bella, 6.
Angeles won on a Powerball on a ticket he bought at BJ’s in Noel. He plays the lottery regularly.
“I play every week,” he said. “I spend $40 every week. I play twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I won $500 a long time ago. I was so happy because I had $10 in my pocket. That was about 1990. I play in BJ’s. That’s my favorite store to get my beer and my coffee.”
He said that before he won he was thinking to himself how much work it was being a single dad, paying for daycare for his 6-yearold and worrying about money in general. The next day, he won $1 million, he said. He asked the cashier to check his ticket, and she told him he won. He replied, “Yeah, right.”
“I told her, ‘I don’t think it’s true,’” he said.
He went to Springfield to cash in his ticket, and his winnings were confirmed.
“It’s so exciting when you find out it’s true,” he said. “It’s a good thing for me and my girls. It’s coming at the right time. Now I don’t have to stretch.”
As for what he is doing with the money, Angeles gave some of it to his ex-wife to pay off some bills. He used part of it to remodel his house and to pay off bills. With part of it, he bought a piece of land in Noel where he will open a new auto service next year. He is very excited about his new shop. The rest of the money he is keeping for his daughters’ future.
“It’s not too much money, but it’s a little bit for a better life,” he said.
He said he will keep playing the lottery twice a week.
“Maybe one day I’ll win the big one,” he said. “You never know.”
“I told her, ‘I don’t think it’s true.’ … It’s so exciting when you find out it’s true. It’s a good thing for me and my girls. It’s coming at the right time. Now I don’t have to stretch.”
Leonardo Angeles
Lotto Winner