A Renton man won $280,000 from the Washington Lottery just two days before Christmas.

Electrician Miklos Atyim moved to the United States from Hungary in 1984. He plays the lottery occasionally, only winning small prizes, according to the press release.

Miklos checked his ticket at the Benson Fred Meyer Wednesday, when the machine read, “see retailer,” according to the press release.

He approached the counter to see “what the problem was with the ticket,” he recalled.

Checking the ticket, the clerk said, “Hey, you won!” Atyim recalled.

“Yeah?” he said.

“You won big money.”

“What—a hundred bucks? A thousand?” Atyim asked with skepticism.

“No,” the clerk replied. “Much more big money than that!”

Atyim won $280,000.

“I am super happy,” he said while claiming the money Christmas Eve in the lottery’s Federal Way office.

Miklos plans to pay off some bills and take his time deciding how to spend the money.

Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $2.5 billion to important state programs, including education construction, stadium debt reduction, economic development and problem gambling prevention and treatment.