Pennsylvania Lottery Corporate Sales Manager Paul Monella (left) presents JR Bilger and his wife, Becky, with a commemorative $1 million check Thursday in Saxton. Courtesy photo

Bedford County resident Kenneth “JR” Bilger, 58, said he was “floored” when his Triple Red 777 scratch-off ticket showed he had won $1 million.

“It was a trip,” Bilger said. “This is a lot more money than I’m accustomed to.”

On Thursday, Bilger and his wife Becky returned to the Martin General Stores location at 533 Main St., Saxton, where he purchased the prize-winning ticket. They met with lottery officials and store personnel and received a commemorative check to mark the occasion.

Bilger, a retired U.S. Navy veteran who has lived in Pennsylvania since 2002, said his previous big lottery win was $1,500, making his most recent $1 million prize especially shocking.

Bilger said that on May 9, he purchased a few Scratch-Off tickets at Martin General Stores and was preparing to head home when the final ticket revealed the $1 million top prize.

“I had to check the ticket three or four times,” he said. “I was shaking and flushed. A guy walking out thought he was going to have to call an ambulance for me.”

Bilger said he went out to his truck in the parking lot to process the news before going back inside to tell the store manager.

“I called my wife right away, but she didn’t believe me,” he said. “My older daughter was with her, and she didn’t believe me either.”

He later showed the ticket to his other daughter, which is when the win finally started to feel real.

Bilger claimed his prize at the Lottery’s Clearfield office just two days later. He plans to use the prize money to help his wife retire from her job, make upgrades to their home, and continue restoring old trucks, one of his longtime hobbies.

Triple Red 777 is a $30 game that offers top prizes of $1 million. The retailer will receive a $5,000 selling bonus.