Monsey Man Is Lottery's First Money Man

SCHENECTADY, NY (10/07/2009)(readMedia)-- Haiti-born Jemps St. Fleur immigrated to the United States seven years ago with dreams of going to college and becoming financially secure. The 24-year-Monsey resident recently realized the first half of his dream by enrolling in the nursing program at Rockland Community College. The young winner credits another family member with helping him secure the second half of that dream.

"My uncle and I have been playing Lottery together for the past year," explained St. Fleur. "We buy tickets together and dream together," he continued. "When we realized this was a ($3,000,000) winner, we thought it was too good to be true. We agreed I would claim the ticket. Now I realize just how lucky I am."

La Fleur said the $3,000,000 prize he won on the Money instant game will allow him to earn his nursing degree and a master's degree with the ultimate goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. "Five years from now, my financial future will be set," he said. "This money is the boost I needed to get me where I want to go and to help other people along the way." St. Fleur said he planned to continue volunteering at Suffern Good Samaritan and will look for other opportunities to share his wealth and talents as a health care professional, in training.

"You have to share it," he said. "Then invest it."

St. Fleur and his uncle purchased the top-prize winning Money instant ticket on September 22, 2009 at the Super 7 Convenience Store on South Main Street in Spring Valley. St. Fleur claimed the ticket the same day at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in New York City.

As with most Lottery instant games, the top prize on the Money instant ticket is awarded in 20 annual payments. La Fleur will receive his $3,000,000 prize in 20 annual installments of $150,000 each, netting him $99,045 a year through 2028.

The Lottery introduced the $10 Money instant game in August 2009. St. Fleur is the first player statewide to claim one of the six $3,000,000 top prizes available on the ticket. Top prize winning tickets are disbursed randomly across all 16,000 licensed Lottery retail locations statewide. The odds of winning the $3,000,000 top prize are approximately 1 in 3 million.

The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, earning more than $36.7 billion in education support statewide since its founding over 40 years ago. The Lottery contributed nearly $2.54 billion in fiscal year 2008-9 to help support education in New York State, which was over 12 percent of total state education funding to local school districts. The Lottery's ongoing commitment to education also includes the awarding of more than 1,100 Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) Scholarships annually to high school students pursuing their higher education in New York State. Since 1999, the Lottery has awarded more than 11,500 scholarships representing a total commitment of almost $50 million.

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