Loch Sheldrake Man is Sullivan County's Newest, Richest Lottery Millionaire

LOCH SHELDRAKEY, NY (06/27/2012)(readMedia)-- Sullivan County is home to seven New York Lottery millionaires, including Andrew Porter of Loch Sheldrake who today received an over-sized copy of his $5,000,000 prize check at the store where he purchased his lucky Mega Money Multiplier scratch-off ticket.

"I was stunned. I couldn't think," said the 50 year-old Porter. "I thought it was a fake at first and then I scanned it again. I started jumping up and down when I realized how big a prize it was, and then I ran straight home."

Porter, a plumber by trade, won his $5,000,000 prize by matching the number 12 on the top and bottom of his ticket. "I didn't get too excited at first because I've won a couple hundred dollars on this ticket before," he said. "But then I scratched the prize under the number 12, and I just didn't believe it. I had to ask the store owner to make sure it was real."

Porter won the last top prize available on the Mega Money Multiplier ticket. The game has since been retired. Porter purchased his ticket on June 10 during a routine stop at the Loch Sheldrake Food Mart on Divine Corners Road in Loch Sheldrake. He claimed his $5,000,000 prize the following day at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Fishkill.

The $5,000,000 prize on the Mega Money Multiplier ticket is paid as a lump sum, earning Porter a one-time net payment of $3,309,000. "I'm taking my family to Disney," said Porter of his plans for his prize.

Porter is the seventh New York Lottery player from Sullivan County to win a jackpot prize worth $1,000,000 or more. Other jackpot winners include:

• Grady Williams of South Fallsburg who won a $3,000,000 Lotto jackpot in 1984;

• Lorraine Boffalo of Bloomingburgh who won a $2,500,000 Lotto jackpot in 1994;

• Gerald Moses of South Fallsburg who won a $3,000,000 Lotto jackpot in 1995;

• Michele Savarino of Highland Lake who won a $3,000,000 Lotto jackpot in 1999;

• Dane Clarke of Monticello who won a $2,000,000 scratch-off prize on the Instant Millionaire ticket in 2000; and

• Charanjit Kaur of Callicoon who won a $1,000,000 scratch-off prize on the Mega Money Multiplier ticket in 2011.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing nearly $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2011-2012 to help support education in New York State. The Lottery's contribution represents nearly 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.

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