After living in a tent for nearly 20 years, you’d think you’d want a warm bed as soon as possible.

Not Dennis Mahurin though. He’s been homeless since 1978 and after buying a scratch-off ticket from a Circle K gas station in Bloomington, Ill., he didn’t really plan on becoming rich.

"I scratched it off right here in my tent,” Mahurin told CINewsNow. “I thought it was a thousand dollars. She said, 'Nope.' I said, 'Oh, I messed up didn't?' She said it was $50,000, and I almost fell over."

With $50,000 in hand, the 59-year-old says he doesn’t plan to change his lifestyle. Instead, he wants to give back.

"With all the other homeless people around here, I've made up my mind,” Mahurin said. “I'm gonna give them each $100."

He says he has eight friends in mind for the cash but expects some more friends to come around once they hear about his new prize.

He told CINewsNow he also plans to visit his son, see a dentist and put some of the cash away.

After taxes, Mahurin will end up with about $35,000 to spend as he wishes.

And, it seems like he’s pretty happy where he is.

“I'm living in a tent, happy as can be in my nature."