GLENS FALLS, N.Y. – Joan Provost of South Glens Falls was babysitting her great grandson last month when her granddaughter came home and said she was having a bad day. Provost, a mother of five, grandmother of nine and great grandmother of “10 and ¾,” told her granddaughter to cheer up because she was going to the store to buy a winning Lottery ticket. And she did.

Provost won the $7,500,000 top prize on the Lottery’s new $25 scratch-off ticket, Silver Spectacular; making her the first Lottery player in New York to win the top prize on the over-sized ticket that went on sale in January.

“I had a $10 scratch-off winner so I turned that in and went to the machine to buy another,” said the energetic octogenarian. “I looked and looked for a $10 ticket but I kept gravitating back to this one,” she said referring to the Silver Spectacular game. “In the end I decided that was the one I wanted, and the rest is what it is.”

Provost scratched the ticket in her car outside the Price Chopper at 84 Cooper Street in Glens Falls. “I saw the coin and thought I won $75. I scratched more and thought, ‘Great I won $750.’” The new Lottery millionaire said she kept scratching to reveal all the zeroes and realized they all added up to $7,500,000.

“I went home and started calling my children,” she said. “It was dinner time. I knew they were busy so I kept it short.”

Provost opted to split her prize evenly among her five children ages 49 to 56.  Siblings receiving a share of the prize include:

• Theresa Darrah of Queensbury, Warren County
• Joann Gonyea of Cabot, Arkansas
• Marianne Hughes of South Glens Falls, Saratoga County
• Louise Nason of Fort Ann, Washington County, and
• Andrew Provost, Jr. of Maysville, North Carolina

Provost and her children will each receive a one-time payment totaling $1,250,000 (net $827,250). Provost said she plans to use her prize to make some home repairs and buy a new car to replace the 14-year-old vehicle she now drives. “Of course, there’s another great grandchild on the way so I’ll be doing some traveling too,” she said.

The New York Lottery contributed $35,667,002.26 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout Saratoga 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.