Seventy-two-year-old retired seamstress Halina Jozwik of West Hempstead has claimed the last top prize on the New York Millions instant game. Jozwik, originally from Poland, bought her $7,000,000 ticket during a stop for coffee at 7-Eleven.

“I gave the ticket to my husband to scratch in the car as I drank my coffee,” said the mother of two and grandmother of four. “He saw a match on number 28 but didn’t scratch off the prize amount. That’s what he does.”

“I scratched off all the numbers on the ticket and then went back to the top to scratch off the prize amounts,” said Ronnie Jozwik, a retired machinist and Halina’s husband of 53 years.

“I thought it might be $7,000, but then I saw more zeroes,” Ronnie said. “We both thought it might be a fake at first.”

The Jozwiks took the ticket home and called their son, a C.P.A.

“They asked me to stop over after work,” said Ted Jozwik, the couple’s eldest. “They never said anything about the ticket. It took them a while to bring it up even after I got there.”

“My father has always been optimistic about winning a big prize. It’s why he plays; that and the fun of playing. It’s entertainment,” he continued.

Halina said the family is still getting used to the idea of coming into so much money and has not yet made any plans beyond helping family.

“We’ll make other plans when we collect the money,” laughed Ronnie.

Halina will receive her$7,000,000 prize as a one-time lump-sum payment, netting her $4,632,600 after required withholdings.

The New York Lottery contributed $138,659,047 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts in Nassau 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.