Five from Queens, Long Island Receive Lottery Prize Checks Worth $6,000,000

BAYPORT, NY (02/24/2012)(readMedia)-- The New York Lottery's Yolanda Vega today presented $6,000,000 in ceremonial prize checks to winners from Queens and Long Island. The winners, including two players who won the $1,000,000 second prize on the new Powerball game, received their keepsake checks at the 7-Eleven on Montauk Highway in Bayport that sold a jackpot-winning scratch-off ticket worth $3,000,000.

Middle Island Sales Pro Wins $1,000,000 Powerball Second Prize

Thirty-eight-year-old Mark Chant of Middle Island, Suffolk County earned his place in New York Lottery history on January 30 when he claimed New York's first-ever $1,000,000 Powerball second prize. Chant, a sales representative, earned the rich distinction by matching the first five numbers in the Powerball drawing held on January 28. He was the first New Yorker to win the $1,000,000 second prize since the new Powerball game went into effect on January 15, 2012.

"I was going for the jackpot," said Chant, an infrequent Lottery player who only buys tickets when the jackpot reaches $100,000,000 or more. "But this is better," he continued. "With $1,000,000, you can keep it simple. It's a fresh start for me and my family."

The winning numbers for the January 28 Powerball drawing were 05 – 33 – 41 – 54 – 59 plus Powerball 13.

Chant purchased his second-prize winning Powerball ticket at the 7-Eleven on Route 25 on Middle Country Road in Ridge. The store is located near another notable Lottery retailer. "It's around the corner from the King Kullen that sold the $208,000,000 Mega Millions ticket to that California guy over the holidays," mused Chant. "I almost went there to buy my Powerball ticket but the 7-Eleven was closer."

The King Kullen in Middle Island sold the sole jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket for the drawing held on December 27, 2011. Daniel Bruckner, from San Jose, California, received his $208,000,000 over-sized prize check at the King Kullen last month.

Chant will receive his $1,000,000 Powerball second prize in one lump sum payment totaling $661,800 after required withholdings. The golf enthusiast said the unexpected cash has rekindled his dream of playing a round at Scotland's famed St. Andrews Links. "But realistically, it's a nice head start on retirement."

Flushing Attorney Claims New York's Second $1,000,000 Powerball Second Prize of 2012

Chi Mo, a 53-year-old attorney from Flushing purchased one set of Quick Pick numbers for the February 11 Powerball jackpot worth $325,000,000. Mo, who admits to being more of a "scratch-off guy," said he decided at the last minute to buy a ticket for that night's near-record jackpot. "The jackpot really wasn't a factor. It was a random decision on my part."

Mo's random purchase decision proved fortunate for him as he scanned his ticket the next day and learned he had matched the first five numbers drawn -- earning him a $1,000,000 second prize. The winning numbers for the February 11 Powerball drawing were 1 – 10 – 37 – 52 – 57 plus Powerball 11.

"I'm not a very excitable guy," said Mo. "I scanned the ticket, took it home to show my wife and then claimed it. I didn't have much of a reaction at all."

Like all $1,000,000 Powerball second-prize winners, Mo will receive his prize in one lump sum payment. The Queens winner had no immediate plans for his net check totaling $623,040.

$1,000,000 Scratch-Off Winner from Sunnyside, Queens: "I Just Go There to Visit"

Margaret Casey goes to the 69-Grand Street store on Grand Avenue in Maspeth to visit with owners Mohmad Memon and Rajnikant Patel more often than to buy tickets. "They're just nice people," insists the 65-year-old widower. It was during one such visit on January 4 as Casey was preparing to leave that she noticed a gold-colored 20X The Money Lottery scratch-off ticket on display near the front door.

"I'll take one of those," she said with one hand on the door. "It was the gold color that got me," she said. "I stopped and scratched the ticket in the store. I don't play scratch-offs, so I had them check it for me," Casey continued. "We all got a little emotional when we realized it was a $1,000,000 winner."

As with most scratch-off games, the top prize on the 20X The Money ticket is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Casey will receive an annual net check totaling $31,152 through 2031. As for her plans for the $1,000,000 prize, Casey says she'll keep it simple. "I have no real needs or wants right now. Maybe I'll take a trip to visit my family down south in the spring."

Bayport Housekeeping Manager and Husband Share $3,000,000 Bonanza Prize

"The store was out of the ticket I wanted to buy so I got this one instead," said 56-year-old Margaret Bryan of Bayport, Suffolk County of her life changing win on the $3,000,000 Bonanza scratch-off game. The working mother of four said there were no words to describe how she felt on January 28 when she finished scratching her winning ticket in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven on Montauk Highway in Bayport where she purchased her $3,000,000 winner.

"All I could manage was 'Oh my God,' over and over again," she laughed.

Bryan opted to split the $3,000,000 prize with her husband, Wallace, a licensed land surveyor. "I walked through our front door and she kept telling me to sit down because she had news," said Wallace. "I couldn't figure out why I had to sit down!"

The couple claimed their prize January 30 at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Garden City. The top prize on the $3,000,000 Bonanza ticket is paid as $150,000 a year for 20 years. The Bryans split the prize 50/50, netting each $49,635 a year through 2031.

The couple's plan for their windfall includes helping with wedding expenses for two of their children and resuming an annual trip to the Florida Keys. "We haven't been able to go since 2007," she said.

About the New York Lottery

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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