Milk Run is a Cash Cow for Middletown Jackpot Winners

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Lottery jackpot winners Eula Webb and Sam Cricci

MIDDLETOWN, NY (04/22/2011)(readMedia)-- Milk, bread, and a couple of Lottery tickets - that was the shopping list Eula Webb, 75, and Sam Cricci, 80, both of Middletown, took to the Associated Supermarket on Fulton Street earlier this month. The friends soon discovered their grocery list was a recipe for instant riches.

"We made a quick trip for milk and bread," said Webb, Cricci's long-time caretaker, who purchased the couple's $1,000,000 winning Empire State Millionaire instant ticket along with one other instant game. "We had to get milk because our cow went dry," joked Webb. "We always buy tickets together and split the prizes," added Cricci. "She gets one and I get one," he continued. "My ticket was a dud this time, but hers was a cash cow."

Both Webb and Cricci are long retired from their jobs. Webb worked for 21 years as a secretary for Horton Hospital in Middletown. Cricci worked in maintenance and security for the City of New York and West Point.

The pair purchased their Empire State Millionaire ticket on April 9th and claimed their top prize at the Lottery's Fishkill Customer Service Center on April 11th. As with most instant games, the top prize on the Empire State Millionaire ticket is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Because Webb and Cricci opted to split the prize equally, each will receive an annual payment of $25,000 ($16,507 net) through 2030. Their plans for the money are modest, said Webb, "We're thinking about replacing my 10-year-old car. I really like the Volkswagen Jetta."

Webb and Cricci are the second Orange County Lottery players of 2011 to win or share a jackpot prize of $1,000,000 or more. Other Orange County Lottery jackpot winners to claim their prize in recent months include Doreen Shammas Donnelly of Greenwood Lake who won a share of a $64 million Mega Millions jackpot, Barry Longwell of Port Jervis who won $1,000,000 on the Win a Million instant game, and Guy Pennisi of Middletown who won $1,000,000 on the Minute To Win It instant game and claimed his prize in March of this year.

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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