SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Twenty-one-year-old Leanette Pizarro of Syracuse was eating dinner with her mother on September 18 when she remembered the Lottery scratch-off game she had put aside for later. The young job seeker scratched the ticket and saw a match on the number 10 in one of the game’s play areas, earning her a guaranteed $1,500 A Week For Life or at least $1,500,000.
Speaking through an interpreter, Pizarro said, “My mother and I were very excited to find out I was a millionaire.”
A native of Puerto Rico, Pizarro said she bought her life-changing ticket at the Syracuse Best Market on East Fayette Street in Syracuse. When asked why she chose the $1,500 A Week For Life ticket over all the other scratch-off games for sale at the neighborhood store, Pizarro replied simply, “It caught my attention.”
Pizarro opted to receive her $1,500 A Week For Life prize in 20 annual installments to reach the $1,500,000 minimum guaranteed payout. Once that threshold has been met, the 21-year-old winner will continue to receive an annual check totaling $78,000 (net $51,600) for life.
Pizarro said she planned to use the windfall to invest in a family business and take a vacation with her mother.
Pizarro is New York State’s 113th Lottery millionaire in 2013. Her win brings to six the number of Onondaga County residents to win or share a Lottery jackpot prize in 2013. Other recent Lottery millionaires include:
- Albert Totari of Camillus who claimed a $1,000,000 Powerball second prize in April;
- Paul Palladino and Amy Carroll of Jamesville who split a $1,000,000 Prism Payout scratch-off prize in July;
- Gary Center of Clay who took home a $1,000,000 Black Diamond Riches scratch-off prize in August; and
- Robert Miles who was awarded a $5,000,000 prize from the $500,000,000 Extravaganza game in September.
The New York Lottery contributed $105,227,174.87 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts throughout Erie County during fiscal year 2012-13.
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.
