Life changes for man after massive lottery win

Bill Stout, a trauma nurse who retired from Aspen Valley Hospital a year and a half ago, has developed a bit of a lottery ticket habit.

He said he spends between $6 and $8 a week $2 Colorado Lotto+ tickets at City Market in Carbondale, where he lives.

He’d won a couple of hundred dollars here and there over the years, but nothing special.

Enough to support the habit. Then he used quick pick for the June 10 drawing. Boom, $3,896,039.

“I checked my numbers last Sunday and couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“I took the ticket to City Market to the ladies who I have been buying my tickets from for years, Clarissa and Yaritza Santos.”

The twin sisters immediately became giddy and checked it, verified it, pulled out their cell phones and took pictures.

“They were laughing and shrieking, overcome with joy,” Stout rememberd.

His win knew verified, all he had to do was go to Grand Junction to claim the prize.

Only he doesn’t drive outside the Roaring Fork Valley anymore. Nearly 70, he lives in his one-bedroom apartment on Main Street in Carbondale where her moved 15 years ago.

“I don’t drive I-70 anymore, I will stick Highways 82 and 133, and I really live a simple life in town,” he said.

He needed a ride to Grand Junction to claim his winnings, the cash option of $1,948,019, now safely in the local bank.