For Immediate Release:                                         Contact:  Communications Office

August 27, 2013                                                                        (518) 388-3415

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NEW YORK, N.Y. – The New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega, Magen MacDavid & Jenny Garcia today awarded $12,000,000 in over-sized prize checks to seven new Lottery millionaires from East Meadow, Valley Stream, Bensonhurst, Fresh Meadows, Queens and Manhattan at the Lottery’s New York City Customer Service Center. The lucky winners won their prizes on Powerball and a handful of scratch-off games, including the ever popular Set For Life game.

Two-Time Lottery Winner’s Belated Birthday Gift Turns into $1,000,000 Prize

Igor Topchiy, 27, of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn won a $1,000,000 top prize on the $1,000,000 Silver & Gold scratch-off game.  

Topchiy’s fiancée gave him his winning $1,000,000 Silver & Gold ticket as a belated birthday gift. He scratched the ticket and saw a match on the number 24.

He told his fiancée, “looks like we won something.” The couple took the ticket to a store to run it through the ticket checker and confirmed it was a $1,000,000 winner.

“I handed the ticket to the store owner who kept yelling, ‘It’s a winner. It’s a winner!’” Topchiy said. The pair then went to Topchiy’s mother’s house to share the news with her.  

Topchiy and his mother moved to New York nine years ago after winning a lottery in Russia that awarded a limited number of green cards to Russian citizens, allowing them to leave the country. Topchiy said he’s been working in the construction industry ever since moving to New York, but is currently unemployed.

Topchiy chose to receive his prize as a lump sum totaling $510,893 after required withholdings. He has no immediate plans for the money even though he’s been buying Lottery tickets since the day he arrived in New York. “You can dream of everything, but when it happens,” he said, “you change your mind, you know?” He said he and his fiancée will probably move forward with plans for a wedding.  

The winning ticket was purchased at Hanna Deli & Grocery on 86th Street in Brooklyn.

Lottery Tagline Inspires $1,000,000 Powerball Win

Sixty-four-year-old Korede Mojeed of Valley Stream, Nassau County, won a $1,000,000 Powerball prize from the drawing held July 10. 

Mojeed, originally from Nigeria, has lived in NY for more than 30 years. He recently retired from his job as a registered pharmacist at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, but continues to work part-time as a pharmacist at Rite Aid. Mojeed said he left work on July 10 and stopped at Fordham Convience and Grocery Mary on Fordham Ave in the Bronx to buy his tickets for that night’s Powerball drawing.

Mojeed went back to the same store then next day to check his ticket. “The clerk in the store was telling everyone that they had a big winner. I ran my ticket through the ticket checker and realized it was me!”   

Mojeed spends about $20 a week on Lottery tickets because “I believe in the commercial that says, ‘Hey, you never know.’ I figure I’ll spend a little money and eventually, I will probably win. It is my dream come true.”

Mojeed will receive his Lottery prize as a one-time payment of $661,800 after required withholdings. He plans to use his prize to replace his 14-year-old car and pay off his mortgage.  

Manhattan Man’s Quick Stop Makes him $3,000,000 Richer

Jamel Wright, 44, a MTA Bus Driver from Manhattan won a $3,000,000 top prize on the 50X the Money scratch-off game.

Wright accompanied his mother to her dentist appointment and on the way back to the car, decided to stop at Mid Westside Convenience on Amsterdam Avenue to pick up a Lottery ticket. He scratched it in the car, but “didn’t take the time to study it. I just knew I had a match. I looked again when I got to my mom’s house and thought, Wow, man!”  

Wright took the ticket back to the retailer to double check and the clerk confirmed it was a $3,000,000 winner. Wright, a father of three, said the timing is perfect as his eldest son is heading to college.

“This will definitely let me upgrade my standard of living,” he laughed before adding, “but when you’ve got children, you always want their future to be brighter than your own.” 

Wright said he spends about $20 a week on scratch-off tickets. “Yeah, I’m taking a chance, but why not? It could be me that ends up winning,” he explained.  

Wright opted to receive his prize in a single net check totaling $1,570,061 after required withholdings. He plans to use the money to help pay for college for his three sons.  

Fresh Meadows, Queens Couple are Set For Life

Arnon and Ilana Perelman won the prize of a lifetime on the New York Lottery’s Set for Life scratch-off game.

Arnon Perelman, who works as a marble polisher, purchased the ticket at Andy Pharmacy on Broadway in Manhattan because he “just happened to be in the area for work and wanted to play.”

He plays scratch-offs daily because he “thinks the big one is coming to him.” Perelman said that he almost fainted when he scratched the ticket in the store. His wife did not believe it until they claimed the ticket July 22 at the Lottery’s Garden City Customer Service Center.  

The parents of two opted to receive their prizes as a one-time lump sum netting them $1,227,345 each after required withholdings. They plan to use their prize to help family.

Wife’s Lucky Number Wins Elmhurst, Queens Man $1,000,000 Prize

Sang Yoo, 35, of Elmhurst, Queens won a $1,000,000 top prize on the Cash Blowout scratch-off game.  

Yoo, a payroll officer for CUNY, said he bought the ticket during a quick lunchtime outing to get something for his dad. “I walked a couple blocks at lunch to find this sunglass case my dad wanted but nobody had it so I got something for me instead.”

Yoo said he picked the Cash Blowout ticket because it was just in the right spot at NN News on 6th Ave in Manhattan. “I saw it there in the bin that had my wife’s favorite number on it – that’s really the only reason I went with this one.”  

Yoo said he scratched the ticket in the store and saw a match on the number 7. “I knew I won but kept it to myself. I just folded the ticket over and put it in my pocket and left. On the walk back to work I had to tell someone, so I tried to call my wife but she didn’t pick up. I left her this message like ‘it’s really important. You need to call me.’”

Yoo finished the day at work and raced home to show the ticket to his wife. 

Yoo opted to receive his prize as a one-time net check totaling $517,123 after required withholdings. He waited to claim his winning ticket until he had a plan for the money. 

 “We’ve been talking to an attorney and others about how to handle things,” he said. Yoo and his wife plan to invest the money and put some aside to buy a house for their growing family. “We don’t have kids yet, but we’re planning on it.”

East Meadow Woman Awarded $1,000,000 Cash Blast Prize

Melissa Beck, of East Meadow, Brooklyn, today received a $1,000,000 Cash Blast scratch-off prize. 

The winning ticket was purchased at 18th Avenue Deli on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn. Beck purchased the ticket last August and kept it in a safety deposit box while she set up the trust.  Beck is not a regular Lottery player and rarely plays scratch-off games.  She said this particular ticket just happened to catch her eye because the colors were aesthetically pleasing.   

Beck opted to receive the $1,000,000 prize in one lump sum netting her $529,440 after required withholdings.  She plans to use her winnings to buy a new house and save for the future.

The New York Lottery contributed $1,200,599,252.62 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout the five boroughs and $111,742,026.75 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout Nassau 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