Portsmouth resident Oliver Davis Jr., 56, promised his wife that he would stop buying scratcher tickets. But he felt compelled to stop by Dollar Delites on Hampton Roads Parkway during a weekday grocery run to Food Lion in the same shopping center.

“I just had this feeling that said, ‘You’re a winner,’” Davis said.

Store owner Harshil Patel enjoys talking to Davis, who has been a regular at the store since it opened in 2014. Davis decided to try his luck that day with a “Super Cash Frenzy” scratcher.

His luck paid off, and he won the $4 million prize. Patel’s store received a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket, and Davis admitted to his wife that he broke his promise.

“I think she’ll forgive me this time,” he said.

This was the first time that the top prize has been redeemed for this particular scratcher game, according to the Virginia Lottery. The game features prizes ranging from $30 to $4 million, and the odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 1,285,200.

Davis had the choice of taking the full $4 million over 30 years or taking the one-time cash option of $2.6 million. He chose the latter and plans to use the money to allow his wife, a Norfolk educator, to retire.

“Words can’t express. I’m still pinching myself,” Davis said.