BUFFALO, N.Y. – New York Lottery players Maryann Nowak of Cheektowaga and Amy McGavis of Dunkirk today received their respective over-sized prize checks worth $1,000,000 each from Yolanda Vega.

Nowak’s big win on the $1,000,000 Winner scratch-off game made her the seventh and last Erie County Lottery Player to claim a prize of $1,000,000 or more in 2015. McGavis’ win made her Chautauqua County’s first Lottery jackpot winner since 2014 and the third New York Lottery player statewide to claim a $1,000,000 prize in 2016.

Cheektowaga Care Giver Wins $1,000,000 Scratch-off Prize

Fifty-nine-year-old Maryann Nowak of Cheektowaga is a $1,000,000 Winner on the Lottery scratch-off game of the same name. Nowak, a caregiver with Assisting Angels, said her winning experience started with a quick run to the store for milk.

“I went out to get the milk and that’s when I decided to try something different,” said the regular Win For Life scratch-off player. “This ticket just spoke to me.”

Nowak scratched the $1,000,000 Winner ticket at home and revealed her winning combination. “I saw the number 8 in the Winning Numbers section and again down below in the Your Numbers part of the ticket,” she explained. That’s when she noticed the word Jackpot printed below the latter.

‘I remember thinking, ‘This can’t be true’ and I just kept looking and looking at the ticket,” she said.

Nowak opted to take the cash value of her annuity prize and will receive a one-time payment of $790,000 (net $522,822).

She said she wants to use her prize “wisely” by paying off her car and making some home repairs.

When asked how it feels to win the Lottery, Nowak said there was no single word that could describe winning a $1,000,000.

‘It’s overwhelming. I feel ecstatic, blessed. It’s a happy anxiety,” she laughed.

Nowak purchased her winning ticket at 7-Eleven at 5100 Genesee St. in Cheektowaga.

Great Grandmother from Dunkirk Surprised to Learn she Won $1,000,000 Powerball Second Prize

Eighty-two-year-old Amy McGavis of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County was New York’s sole second-prize winner from the January 6 Powerball drawing.

McGavis’ said no one was more surprised than she was when she entered the Fredonia Food Mart the day after the drawing to check the winning numbers.

“I handed my ticket to the clerk and he told me that the store had sold a $1,000,000 ticket and I was the winner. After that, everything kind of faded to white because of the lights coming from the television cameras,” said McGavis referring to the news camera crew who were already in the store inquiring about the winning ticket.

McGavis said she was dazed by all the attention, but wanted to savor every moment. “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It’s the best feeling in the world next to having all your children with you,” said the mother of seven, grandmother of 20 and great grandmother of 31.

McGavis said it was her husband who suggested she buy a Powerball ticket during the recent roll-up that culminated in a record-setting jackpot of $1.5 billion.

“He thought it would be nice to be able to leave something to the next generations,” she said before adding, “That’s nice, but I’d also like to buy a couple things for myself like a home gym and a new roof for the house.”

When asked about her thoughts as she was buying her single set of Quick Pick numbers she said, “Honestly, I felt like I was throwing money away. You have to understand, nothing like this ever happens to me.”

McGavis purchased her lucky ticket at Fredonia Food Mart at 33 Temple St. in Fredonia.

The New York Lottery contributed $32,741,492.62 and $193,794,512.82 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts in Chautauqua and Erie Counties respectively during fiscal year 2014-15.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.11 billion in fiscal year 2014-2015 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.