Surprise! Lotto winners take day off work
Wells Fargo branch closes as new millionaires stay home
The bank employees had the world’s best reason to not show up for work on early Saturday morning: They’re multi-millionaires.
“This branch is closed,” read a sign on the locked doors of a Wells Fargo branch office in a strip mall on busy Branham Ave. in south San Jose, while its staff spent the day thinking about things more thrilling than other people’s money.
Eleven co-workers from the bank branch pitched $2 each into an office pool — and won the $543 million Mega Millions jackpot, the largest prize in California lottery history. After taxes, each employee will walk away with an estimated $19 million.
Befuddled customers peered through glass at a tableau of clean desks, empty plastic chairs and an idle coffee machine — then celebrated the news, despite the inconvenience.
“Good for them! I am happy it went to a group of people who are always sweet and pleasant,” said long-time customer Michelle McClendon.
The employees, ranging in age from 21 to 60, were identified on Friday afternoon as Roland Reyes, Marigold Villaruz, Rita Sinha, Murad Kureshi, Nga Lam, My Nguyen, Solonachchige Dissanayake, Isabel Dominguez, Alejandra Villanueva, Alice Socorro and Joji Ziegele. It was not known how many of them were scheduled to work Saturday.
They co-workers bought the ticket at a liquor store on a troubled block of San Jose’s South White Road in the Evergreen neighborhood, near where the owner of an adjacent liquor store was shot dead during an attempted robbery last August.
In an only-in-America tale, Ernie’s Liquors store owner Kewal Sachdev and his wife Kiren are getting $1 million for selling the winning ticket.. “It’s like a dream come true,” Kewal said at a press conference.
On Saturday morning, the bank’s parking lot — an unremarkable spot shared with Annie’s Design Nail, Life Reflexology and a Vietnamese coffee shop — was empty. On Monday, Wells Fargo’s HR office will presumably be seeking a new team of employees.
Rather than waking to an alarm and a commute on a weekend, they’ve said they’re planning to pay off mortgages and kids’ college tuition, help family members, go back to school and travel.
“If I could win, anybody could win. We’re just normal people!” winner Reyes said in a press release.
Customers described them as polite and hardworking. McClendon recounted their help with a handicapped friend, offering a chair and extra attention.
“They’re such down-toearth people. It gives me chills,” said customer Suzette Melegrito.
“Wow. Just wow,” said another customer, returning her wallet to her purse.
Empty-handed but happy, she returned her wallet to her purse, then set off to find an ATM.