His car's running out of fuel led him to win the jackpot.

He entered a gas station with only $40 in his pocket, so he came out a millionaire

A driver from the US state of Kentucky won a lottery ticket worth one million dollars, after he went to a gas station after running out of fuel for his car, and while he was at the station, he bought a lottery ticket to discover that it was the winner.

According to the New York Post, Michael Schlemmer explained to lottery officials that he needed to stop at the right food store along U.S. Highway 25 when his car ran out of fuel.

"I ran out of fuel, and I went to the station where I won," he recalls.

With $40 in cash in his pocket, Schleimer spent $20 on gasoline and then bought a lottery ticket with the rest of the money.

"I scratched the ticket, looked at it and went back to the store," he said. "I showed the girls who sold it to me her winning number, as they were shocked to hear that it was the winning ticket."

Schlemer's scratch had the figure indicating the first prize of one million dollars.

He was still unbelievable until he got the check in his hand last Thursday.

He drove to the lottery headquarters and took home a check for $616300,862 after tax deduction. Lottery officials said it chose $<>,<> in one payment instead of annual premiums.

Schlemmer will use his new fortune to buy a new car and put the rest into savings, he said.