Erie, Chautauqua County Residents Receive Lottery Prizes Worth $6,000,000 (At Least)

The New York Lottery today awarded prize checks worth at least $6,000,000 to two instant ticket winners from Depew, Erie County and Westfield, Chautauqua County. The Lottery's Yolanda Vega presented each winner with an over-sized check at the Hamburg Casino at the Fairgrounds.

A Day Under the Big Top Leads to a $5,000,000 Top Prize for Westfield Set For Life Winner

Judith Petz, 62, and her husband Bill of Depew took their grandson to the circus last month and headed over to Sal's Lounge on Olmstead Ave. for something to eat and somewhere to relax.

"We go there on Thursday for the dinner special," said Petz, a mother of three and grandmother of four. "We made a special trip after the circus to unwind a bit" from the sights and sounds of the big top. "We ordered some dinner and I spent my usual $20 for two tickets from the machine," continued Petz. "I didn't win anything so my husband gave me a $20, which he never does, because he said I really needed to relax." Petz spent the extra money to get two more Set for Life tickets and sat down to scratch them while they waited for dinner.

It didn't take long for Petz to realize the second ticket she purchased was different from the others. "I know what I saw with the number 4 on top (of the ticket) matching the number 4 on the bottom, but at a moment like that, you start questioning yourself and wondering if something like this could really happen to you." Petz showed the ticket to her husband who confirmed it was a jackpot winner.

The top prize on the Set For Life ticket guarantees a minimum payout of $5,000,000 to be paid over 20 years with all subsequent payments to continue, for life. Petz will receive her $5,000,000 in 19 annual payments of $260,000 (net $171,678) and one additional payment of $60,000 (net $39,618). She will continue to receive an annual net payment of $171,678 thereafter.

As for her plans for the money, Petz said she and her husband will take it slow. "This is life changing for us. Right now, we can't see ourselves doing anything that we haven't already done in the 45 years we've been together,' she said. "It's an awesome time in our lives."

Petz purchased her winning ticket on March 19th and claimed it on March 25th at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Buffalo.

Westfield Sterling Silver Winner Discovers There's Lucky, and Then There's $1,000,000 Lucky

Sixty-year-old Janice Rothwell of Westfield is a lucky person. "I used to carry a four leaf clover in my purse," said the recently retired 32-year Verizon veteran. "But I haven't had one of those in years."

Rothwell said her luck was working overtime on March 19th when she stopped into the Tuscany Deli & Meat Market on East Main St. in Fredonia. "It feels like a lucky store," said Rothwell, "so I bought a (Sterling Silver) ticket. The lifelong Chautauqua County resident proceeded to buy some of her other favorite things - crab salad, turkey and pepperoni – and then headed to the car to scratch her ticket.

"I was absolutely stunned; in a daze really," said the retired telephone operator. "My husband wouldn't believe me. He said, 'give me that. I need to see it for myself.'" The couple then went back into the store to verify the winning ticket. "Everyone started jumping for us," recalled Rothwell. It was very exciting." The couple made the trip to Buffalo the following Monday to officially claim their prize.

As with most instant games, the $1,000,000 top prize on the Sterling Silver instant game is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Rothwell will receive a net check totaling $33,015 through 2030. "We want to get another house," said Rothwell of her plans for the money. "My husband has his eye on a special 1932 Ford Coupe...and a black Cadillac."

Rothwell purchased her winning ticket at Tuscany Deli & Meats on East Main Street in Fredonia. The deli also sold a $1,000,000 winning Super 9s scratch-off ticket to Cherry Valley resident Linda Jo Stalker in 2009.

The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing over $3 billion in fiscal year 2010-2011 to help support education in New York State. The Lottery's aid represents over 15 percent of total state education funding to local school districts.

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.

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