Kansas Man Finds Golden Can, Wins Super Bowl Tickets for Life
Lyle Randa, 52 of Wichita won the grand prize earlier this week.
— -- A Kansas man is headed for Super Bowl 51 and many more thereafter, since finding a gold-colored beer can that qualified him for entry in Bud Light's Super Bowl Tickets for Life sweepstakes.
Lyle Randa won the prize earlier this week, which Anheuser-Busch confirmed to ABC News today.
"I just want to say, 'Thank you'... for the incredible opportunity," the Wichita resident, 52, told ABC News. "I'm looking forward to going to the Super Bowl, seeing new cities and new stadiums and it's going to be a fun ride. It's a dream come true because I'm a huge NFL fan, football fan and a huge Bud Light fan."
Just before New Year's Eve, Randa, a father of two and 20-year veteran machinist at Textron Aviation, purchased a 30-pack of Bud Light at El Maya Liquor store in Wichita. When he returned home, Randa discovered one gold-colored can among the 29 blue ones sitting in the box.
Randa then dialed Manuel Osorio, owner of El Maya, to inform him that he had purchased a gold-colored can from his store.
Osorio told ABC News he reached out to his distributor, who confirmed with Anheuser-Busch that the box Randa purchased contained the can.
"He said, 'No. you're pulling my leg,'" Osorio recalled of the conversation with Randa. "I said, 'I'm not lying to you. You're actually the winner.' And that's when it hit him: This is actually legit."
From Nov. 28 through Jan. 13, 37,000 gold-colored Super Bowl 51 cans were randomly placed in packs. The lucky fans who found them were able to enter to win the grand prize: Super Bowl tickets for life (up to 51 years).
About a week ago, Randa got the call that he was the big winner of two tickets. Both he and his wife, Amy Randa, said they were in utter shock.
"We thought it was a scam at first and I said, 'This not a scam,'" Amy told ABC News. "He is a very kindhearted, loving person. He loves to have fun, he loves the NFL and he definitely deserves this."
Although he's a fan of the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs, Randa said he's thrilled to attend Super Bowl 51 and hopes to make the trip an annual tradition. He and his wife are flying to Houston today, before Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.