NEW YORK, N.Y. – The New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega and Jenny Garcia teamed up today to present five ceremonial prize checks worth a collective $14,000,000 to a fresh mix of Lottery scratch-off and draw game winners. The check presentations took place at the Lottery’s Customer Service Center in Manhattan where all of the winners claimed their respective tickets.

Brooklyn Butcher Shop Employee Brings Home the Bacon with $10,000 A Week For Life Prize

Fifty-one-year-old supermarket butcher shop employee Margaret Douglas of Flatbush recently claimed a top prize on the New York Lottery’s $10,000 A Week For Life scratch-off game. Douglas is a meat wrapper at the Pathmark at 1525 Albany Ave. in Brooklyn, the same store where she bought her ticket. Her win guarantees the single mother of two a minimum payout of $10,000,000.

“I bought it during my coffee break, but I didn’t get any coffee,” said Douglas, a native of St. Vincent. Douglas said she often uses her break time to play a Lottery game.

“I saw the coin and I knew,” she said referring to the Autowin symbol printed above the word LIFE on the bottom portion of her ticket. When asked if she finished the work day Douglas said, “No! I went home of course.”

Douglas opted to take the cash value of her guaranteed $10,000,000 minimum prize. She will receive a single lump sum payment totaling $7,791,512 (net $4,854,424).

She plans to put a portion of her windfall toward the purchase of a new home. Other plans include “cutting back on my hours and relaxing a little more.”

Win $1,000 A Week For Life Prize Gets the Royal Treatment in Brooklyn

Otto Royal, 71, of Bedford-Stuyvesant retired from his job as a hospital housekeeper after 33 years on the job. Acknowledging that retirement can get monotonous at times, the Brooklyn-ite said there are two things he likes to do to “keep busy;” drinking coffee and playing the Lottery.

“I spend $2, maybe $5 a day on tickets. On that day, I went out to get a cup of coffee and brought it home to drink,” said Royal who likes to scratch Lottery tickets in between sips of his favorite brew. Royal said he knew his $2 Win $1,000 A Week For Life ticket was different from past tickets he’s played when he saw the word “LIFE” printed three times on the second game, making him an instant Lottery millionaire.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I thought I was seeing things…like my eyes were playing tricks on me so I went next door to have my neighbor look at it too.”

Rather than waiting to receive his guaranteed minimum $1,000,000 payment over 20 years, Royal opted to take the cash value of his annuity prize and will receive a one-time payment of $776,591 (net $483,847).

Royal said he planned to continue playing. As for keeping busy, he said he plans “to enjoy my life and do some of the things I always wanted to do.” He added that one of those things might include taking his grandkids to Disneyland.

Royal bought his Win $1,000 A Week For Life ticket at Mattie and Juanita’s at 350A Tomkpins Ave. in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn IT Pro Finds His Lottery Luck Close to Home with $1,000,000 Powerball Prize

For 49-year-old IT professional Terry Dulan of Clinton Hill, the decision to play Powerball comes down to a simple value proposition. “I play for the money; for the prize,” he said. He applies the same practical approach to where he chooses to buy his Powerball tickets. “I go to Waverly Convenience because it’s close to home,” he said.

Dulan’s practical approach to life paid off last month when he scanned the Powerball ticket he bought for the February 12 drawing and learned that one of the three sets of Quick Pick numbers he purchased was worth $1,000,000.

“I was shocked,” said the once a week Lottery player.  Dulan was one of eight Powerball players nationwide to win a $1,000,000 second prize for matching the first five numbers drawn for the February drawing for a jackpot of $286,000,000.

The winning numbers for the February 12 Powerball drawing were 36 44 49 52 57 Powerball 01.

Dulan will receive his prize as a single net payment totaling $623,040. He said he plans to use his extra cash to pay some bills and take a family vacation.

Dulan bought his ticket at Waverly Convenience at 349 B Waverly Ave. in Brooklyn.

Everyday Workers from Queens and the Bronx Get A Slice of $1,000,000 Powerball Prize

It’s not every day that a pair of deli workers win a $1,000,000 Lottery prize, but that’s just what happened to Angel Dutan of East Elmhurst and Marcial Martinez of the Bronx. The two are co-workers at the Everyday Home Deli in the Bronx. The pair of Lottery buddies matched the first five numbers drawn in the February 22 Powerball drawing using a set of random numbers chosen by Martinez.

“I bought the ticket at the store right in front of my house,” said Martinez, the deli’s delivery man. “That’s where I always go to get our tickets.” Martinez said he and Dutan routinely pool their money to play Powerball and Mega Millions and share whatever prize money they may win. On this occasion, Martinez spent $10 to buy five sets of Powerball numbers at 693 Allerton Liquor at 693 Allerton Avenue in the Bronx. He checked the pair’s winning numbers at the same location the day after the February 22 drawing.

“I was very happy,” Martinez said when asked about his reaction to seeing “Big Winner” pop up on the ticket checker screen.

The winning numbers for the February 22 Powerball drawing were 02 03 13 14 54 Powerball (04). The jackpot for the drawing was $40,000,000.

The man opted to split the $1,000,000 second prize evenly with each receiving a one-time cash payment of $500,000 (net $305,900).

Martinez said he’s still mulling over plans for his share of the prize. His co-worker said he had it all figured out. “My life has changed already,” said Dutan, adding. “I’m going to buy a house.”

Bronx Kitchen Worker Cleans Up with $1,000,000 Monopoly Jackpot Scratch-Off Win

Forty-five-year-old Julio Estrella of the Bronx claimed a $1,000,000 Lottery scratch-off prize earlier this month after revealing an Autowin coin symbol printed on the Monopoly Jackpot ticket he purchased at his “regular store” on his way to work at a private club. 

“I stop there because it’s close to my job,” explained Estrella, a father of three. He said he scratched his ticket while enjoying his morning coffee, eggs and toast during a morning break. 

Estrella, a dishwasher at Club Comopolita, said “The first thing I saw was the coin. Then I saw the Jackpot 1 Million printed underneath and I jumped and screamed to my friend, ‘I can’t believe it. I won.’” Estrella said he took the rest of the day off and went home to call his wife. “She took the rest of the day off too,” he said. The two spent the rest of the day discussing their plans for the $1,000,000.

Estrella opted to receive the cash value of his prize which totaled $780,000. He will receive one payment of $485,971. Estrella said he planned to use the cash to buy a new home for his family.

The New York Lottery contributed $1,200,599,252.62 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout New York County during fiscal year 2012-2013.

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.