PLAINVIEW, N.Y. – The New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega and Gretchen Dizer today presented seven lucky Lottery players from Nassau and Queens Counties with $16,300,000 in oversized prize checks at the Lottery’s new Long Island Customer Service Center, including two Lotto winners of $6,200,000 and $7,100,000. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Lottery’s newest Customer Service Center with local dignitaries preceded the winner announcements.

Lotto Subscriber Gifts $6,200,000 Lotto Prize to his Wife

Dr. Alan Strobel, an anesthesiologist from Jericho, Nassau County was the sole winner of the $6,200,000 Lotto jackpot drawn on November 6. He ultimately decided to “gift” the jackpot to his wife, Tammy Schwartz-Strobel.

Dr. Strobel, 53, said his wife received the initial call from the Lottery’s Prize Payment Unit and hung up on the Lottery because she believed it was a scam. It wasn’t until the Lottery’s Prize Payment Unit called back that she told her husband about the call and advised him to call back.

“Even then,” Dr. Strobel said, “I did my own research and confirmed the number was real before calling anyone back. You have to understand, we never had any expectation of getting a call like this!” 

Dr. Strobel has been a Lotto subscriber since 2003. He said if it wasn’t for the subscription program he probably wouldn’t play the Lottery at all. “It’s the only thing that fits my lifestyle and my schedule,” he said. “I’m not interested in waiting in line or making a trip to a convenience store to buy a ticket. I pay once a year and don’t think about it – I get a few checks every once in a while and the rare phone call telling me I won $6,200,000.”

Dr. Strobel’s jackpot-winning Lotto numbers reflect a series of family birthdays and anniversaries.

Tammy Schwartz-Strobel chose to receive the winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $3,912,722 (net $2,589,439). The Strobels plan to give much of the prize to various charities that they have been involved with over the years.

$1,000,000 Scratch-off Winner Proves Why Mother Knows Best

Andrew Roland, 28, of Bellmore, Nassau County won $1,000,000 on the 20X the Cash scratch-off game. 

On October 21, Roland’s mother was having car troubles, so he went to Sai Gas & Food on Conklin Street in Farmingdale to meet her.  While he was there, his mother, who really likes the 20X the Cash scratch-off game, told him he should buy one.  Roland took her advice and purchased one ticket. He said he was shocked to learn it was a $1,000,000 winner.

Roland, sought out financial advice before claiming his winning ticket.  He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of $840,000 (net $555,912).  Roland will continue to work at his job installing underground gas lines for National Grid.  He said he plans to make investments, take care of his family and use part of his winnings to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend. 

New Mega Millions Format Makes Floral Park Village Couple Lottery Millionaires

Sixty-year-old Hilton Cancel and 55-year-old Alicia Cancel of Floral Park Village, Nassau County won a $1,000,000 Mega Millions second prize from the November 12 drawing.

Alicia said she saw the ‘We had a winner’ sign at Tulip Card & Gift Shop on Tulip Avenue in Floral Park where her husband purchased the couple’s Mega Millions tickets.  She immediately sent him a text message telling him to check their tickets.  Hilton was waiting for his son at the train station at the time and looked up the winning numbers on his phone.  Hilton said that he “went into a totally different kind of numb” when he realized they matched the first five numbers and won the $1,000,000 second prize.

Alicia did not believe him initially and told him to come home so they could check the results together.  The couple said they barely slept that night and it really only sunk in when they validated the ticket at the Lottery’s Customer Service Center.  Hilton said he always thought that he would win a Lottery prize and that day has finally come. 

The Cancels have been married for 33 years and have two sons.  They are splitting the $1,000,000 prize and will receive a one-time lump sum payment of $330,900 each after required withholdings.  The couple is not sure what they will do with their winnings.

A Stop for Breakfast Wins Westbury Man $1,000,000 Powerball Prize

Robert Blume, 37, of Westbury, Nassau County won a $1,000,000 Powerball second prize from the October 23 drawing.

He bought his Mega Millions and Powerball tickets at his usual retailer, Virpa Convenience on Carman Avenue in Westbury, while picking up breakfast. Blume checked his Quick Pick numbers the day after the drawing at the same store. He won $7 on a Mega Millions ticket and then ran his Powerball ticket through the ticket checker. “I got a message that said ‘Big Winner. See Retailer.’ I thought something was wrong with the machine, so I called the two guys that own the store to come look for themselves. They said there’s nothing wrong with the machine, ‘this store sold a million dollar winner…and it’s you!’”

Blume, a project manager for a roofing company, plans to use his lump sum of $661,800 after required withholdings to invest for his three children’s education and pay off debt. “We’re big animal people,” said the owner of 10 cats and one dog. “I can see us maybe doing something nice for animals too.”

The New York Lottery contributed $111,742,026.75 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout Nassau County during fiscal year 2012-13.

Randomly Selected Numbers Win Queens Couple $7,100,000 Lotto Jackpot

Kam Sing Wong, 59,  and his wife Perla Wong, 59, of Rego Park, Queens County won a $7,100,000 Lotto jackpot from the September 4 drawing.

Kam Sing Wong said that he has been playing Lotto for over 20 years and just randomly selected his numbers for that particular drawing.  They were both surprised and happy that they won the jackpot.

The Wongs said they kept their winning ticket in a safe place until they could claim it on October 30 at the Lottery’s recently closed Garden City Customer Service Center.

The couple decided to split the jackpot prize. They chose to receive a one-time lump sum payment of $2,196,342 (net $1,368,409.50) each.  The Wongs plan to use their winnings to buy a bigger house and a new Lexus for Perla.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Margaret Newsstand on 63rd Drive in Rego Park.

The New York Lottery contributed $1,200,599,252.62 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout the five boroughs 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.

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