For Immediate Release:                                         Contact:  Communications

February 25, 2014                                                                     (518) 388-3415

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DEPEW, NY - New York Lottery Draw Team Member Gretchen Dizer today presented an over-sized prize check in the amount of $10,000,000 to 53-year-old Jerry Kajfasz of Lancaster. Kajfasz is Erie County’s first Lottery jackpot winner of the New Year and the 11^th New York Lottery player statewide to receive a prize of $1,000,000 or more so far this year. The married father of two earned the dual distinctions after winning the $10,000,000 top prize on the Lottery’s Win For Life Spectacular scratch-off game.

Kajfasz works for a printing company in Amherst, a job he has held for the last 27 years. He said he bought his jackpot-winning ticket on January 18 at Depew One Stop on Broadway Street in Depew – a convenience store that Kajfasz calls his “day-off store.”

Kajfasz said he owes his life-changing win to “some smaller winnings that I rolled together” to buy a mix of different scratch-off tickets. “I asked the clerk for a few different tickets and he went to hand me a Win For Life Spectacular ticket by mistake,” said Kajfasz.  “I corrected him and only bought the ones I asked for.” He said he then went to his truck and scratched seven winning tickets in a row. That’s when he decided “to go back to buy the one that almost got away.”

While still in the store, Kajfasz said he scratched the Win For Life Spectacular ticket to reveal a match on the number 10 on the top and bottom portions of his ticket and the word “Life” printed beneath. “I asked the clerk to verify it was a $10,000,000 winner and he said ‘Man, you just hit the big one’ and shook my hand.’”

Known for being pretty lucky on Lottery, Kajfasz said he went home to show the ticket to his wife of 30 years, Anne. “She said, ‘Oh, so you won again?’” he laughed. And then I showed her the ticket. The two then called their two grown children and that’s when the tears and champagne started flowing.

Kajfasz opted to share his prize with his children. The family members will receive their respective share of the annuity prize which is designed to pay $10,000,000 over the next 20 years and additional checks equal to that amount every year thereafter for the duration of Jerry Kajfasz’s life.

The new Lottery millionaire said he’ll use his windfall to take care of family. That includes fulfilling a promise to take his mother on vacation to visit family in her native Poland. “The trip was in the works,” Kajfasz said. “But, this will help make it happen a lot sooner than we planned.”

The New York Lottery contributed $191,359,408.74 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout Erie County during fiscal year 2012-13.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.04 billion in fiscal year 2012-2013 to help support education in New York State.  The Lottery’s contribution represents 15 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.

About the New York State Gaming Commission

The New York State Gaming Commission regulates all aspects of gaming and gambling activity in the state, including horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering, class III Indian gaming, video lottery terminal facilities at race tracks, the state lottery and charitable gaming.