MEAD, Wash. -- Wayne M. Leyde, a 26-year-old Mead, Wash., resident, served as a tanker for the U.S. Army during two tours in Iraq and never imagined anything after that experience could shake him. That is, until he won $1 million from a Scratch lottery ticket.
Leyde left the gym at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night and stopped by a local convenience store, Zip Trip, for some food and a drink. He bought four Washington Millionaire II Scratch tickets.
Leyde is currently enlisted in the National Guard and works as a personal banker for Wells Fargo. He told ABC News that he is still going to volunteer [image-nocss] to go back to Iraq for a third tour of duty and will not spend any of the money in the meantime.
"It was a commitment I made about three months ago. I'm going to stick to it," Leyde said about his decision, according to the report.
The sergeant added that rents have gone up where he and his parents live in the Mount Spokane area of Washington and that, for now, he is not going to spend any of the money. "For right now, I'm going to hold off [spending] and let reality sink back to earth. This is a true blessing. I'm going to turn it around and see if I can bless other people with this," Leyde told ABC News.
This is the second recent top prize sold by Zip Trip. Spokane couple Nat and Brandee Louik won $3.3 million in the Dec. 23, 2006, Lotto drawing.
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