Before Charles Spansel Jr.'s father passed away, he told Spansel's wife that his son would one day win "the lottery".  Two months later on July 1, Spansel claimed the $1.8 million Lotto jackpot from the June 6 drawing.

Spansel, age 57 of Kenner, used his winnings from a previous drawing to purchase the ticket that won him the jackpot. However, after a relaxing vacation with his family, he had difficulty finding the ticket. More than a week had passed when he heard that the winning ticket was sold in New Orleans.

"Once I heard about the winning ticket from New Orleans, I had a feeling it was mine," shared Spansel. "I went to the Lottery Web site and realized that my numbers matched the Lotto winning numbers."

Although Spansel wanted to share this wonderful news with his family, he kept it a secret. "One of my daughters was getting married eight days later, so I thought it would be best if I waited. I didn't want to steal the spotlight from her day," he said.

For two weeks, Spansel kept his winnings a secret from his family until early Father's Day morning when he told his wife and children. "They were all shocked, but it's fitting that I shared the big news with everyone on Father's Day. I was honoring my father who knew I would win all along," said Spansel.

Spansel won $1,845,829 and received $1,292,080, after federal and state taxes were withheld. The winning numbers were 6-7-14-19-31-33. He said he plans to use his winnings to help pay for another family wedding.

He purchased his winning ticket from M & J Fuel on North Rampart Street in New Orleans. M & J Fuel will receive a bonus of $18,458.29, which is 1 percent of the prize, for selling Spansel his jackpot-winning ticket.

Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age.  Draw-style game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing.  Anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem should call toll free 1-877-770-7867 for help.  For security purposes, the Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing.