Bladimir Agnite Collects $52 Million After Seeing Himself In Photo Of Mystery Lottery Winner

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for one lucky California couple, one photo was worth $52 million.

More than a month after a Mega Millions drawing on July 27, the California Lottery stil hadn't found the winner, so the agency last Friday posted a photo of a mysterious man it believed had bought the winning ticket. Just hours later, an unemployed Fremont man came forward to claim the prize.

Bladimir Agnite had no idea he had won until an in-law called in excitement to say he had seen Bladimir's picture on television news. The surveillance video image showed a man in a white t-shirt and sunglasses. It was taken at a Kwik Stop at 3157 Walnut Avenue in Fremont, where Bladimir regularly bought lottery tickets, according to NBC, and where the winning ticket was sold on July 25.

When Bladimir went on the California Lottery's website to check the photo, he realized it was of him and rushed to tell his wife, Marita.

"I said, 'We're wanted -- in the lotto,'" he said during a Friday press conference.

The couple claimed the winnings Friday at a Lottery office in Sacramento, according to the San Jose Mercury News.