Evan Bauer of Slidell was just warming up when he matched five of the six Lotto numbers in the July 4 drawing to win a $1,842 Louisiana Lottery prize, but he hit a homerun in the subsequent Lotto drawing, matching all six numbers to win the $1,716,696 jackpot.

"Pick your numbers and stick to them," the 29-year-old shared when he claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baton Rouge on Monday. "Eventually it will pay off!" 

RaceTrac Petroleum #380 on Gause Boulevard in Slidell sold Bauer his winning ticket and will receive a bonus of $17,167, which is 1 percent of the prize, for the sale. The winning numbers for the July 7 Lotto drawing were 03-06-09-10-14-25.

Bauer said he plans to put the money into savings while he thinks carefully about how to spend it.

After federal and state taxes were withheld, Bauer received $1,201,687.

The July 7 Lotto jackpot was the largest won since 2009 and had been rolling since March 10, 2012.

Lottery 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.