Hinsdale Scratch-Off Winner is County's First $1,000,000 Lottery Millionaire of 2012

HINSDALE, NY (04/04/2012)(readMedia)-- The New York Lottery today announced Marion McMillen of Hinsdale as Western New York's newest Lottery millionaire. The 41-year-old McMillen said there was nothing special about his decision to buy his winning scratch-off ticket.

"I liked the name of the game," said the father of three of the Lottery's $1,000,000 Payday scratch-off. McMillen purchased his $1,000,000 winner on March 9 at the Crosby Dairy on Route 16 in Hinsdale.

He won his top prize by matching the number 29 on the top and bottom portions of his ticket. "I saw the word jackpot," he said. "But, I didn't know what it meant so I asked the clerk to check it for me. And, then I went numb" McMillen claimed his prize at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Buffalo. His plans for the money include starting his own business.

The top prize on the $1,000,000 Payday scratch-off game is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. McMillen will receive a net check totaling $33,090 a year through 2031. McMillen's win makes him Cattaraugus County's first Lottery jackpot winner of 2012 to claim a top prize valued at $1,000,000 or more. The county's other recent Lottery millionaires include:

• George Sequerth III of Olean who won at least $1,000,000 on the Win $1,000 A Week For Life scratch-off in 2001;

• Lisa Henderson of Gowanda who won $1,000,000 on the Max-A-Million scratch-off in 2005; and

• Kelly Murphy of Delevan who won $3,000,000 on the Platinum Payout scratch-off in 2012.

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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