Twenty-three-year-old Darwin Aguirre Portillo from Brewster is the 18^th Putnam County winner ever to win a Lottery prize valued at $1,000,000 or more.  Aguirre Portillo hit the jackpot when he scratched the $2.5M winning combination a $2,500 a Week for Life scratch-off ticket during a random stop for gas.  The lucky winner explained that this ticket is his favorite.

 “This ticket is my favorite one to play,” explained Aguirre Portillo.  “I’ve seen my friends win on it so that’s the one I play.  I always hoped one day I would hit the big one and now I have.”

 Aguirre Portillo’s road to riches started with a random stop for gas at the GULF on Main Street in Brewster. 

 “I was on my way home from work and stopped for gas and some water,” said the landscaper.  “I ended up buying a ticket and scratched it in the parking lot.  I matched on the number 22 and saw the word LIFE below it.  I thought ‘Oh wow, I won’ and then immediately called my brother Daniel to tell him the good news.”

 The $2,500 A Week for Life ticket has a guaranteed minimum payout of $2,500,000.  Aguirre Portillo opted to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment.  He will receive a net check totaling $1,390,601 after required withholdings.

 “Now that have hit the big one I will consider all of my options,” explained the newly minted millionaire.  “I might go back to school and start my own business sometime in the future.  I’m also considering buying a new car and possibly a house.”

 The New York Lottery contributed $12,402,493 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout Putnam County during fiscal year 2015-2016.

 About the New York Lottery

 The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.30 billion in fiscal year 2015-2016 to help support education in New York State.  The Lottery’s contribution represents 14 percent of total state education aid to local school districts. 

 New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education.  It takes into account both a school district’s size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding.