When one door closes another one opens. This much is true for Katrina victim Carl Hunter who lost two homes to the hurricane but won a $97 million Powerball prize. Hunter, who bought the ticket at a convenience store where he stopped to buy some milk became the largest winner in Louisiana Lottery history.

“I had some change, and one dollar was used to buy this ticket,” Hunter said Thursday at the Louisiana Lottery Corp. headquarters in Baton Rouge, according to The Associated Press.

“It's all about milk,” said his wife with a smile on her face.

Although he won the jackpot in January, the 73-year-old small businessman waited until recently to claim the prize.

The couple said they didn’t have specific plans for the money but that they would retire and rebuild a camp lost to the Katrina hurricane.

“I'm retiring, you know, naturally. I don't think about buying elaborate cars or homes,” said Hunter.

When asked about why he waited so long to turn in the ticket, Hunter replied that he wanted to finish some work on his construction. Moreover, he was still at work this week, said his wife.

Hunter said that this wasn’t his first prize, as he won $5,000 off a ticket, a few years ago.

The gas station where Hunter bought his ticket will also get $25,000 for selling the winning ticket.