Niagara Falls Cinema Manager Makes Quick Work Of Winning $1,000,000 Smooth 7s Prize

Niagara Falls native Debra Mauro was in a rush to get to work when she ran into the Tops market on Niagara Falls Boulevard to get some dinner to go and a couple of Lottery tickets. With no time to spare, Mauro said her eyes landed on a Smooth 7s instant ticket and that's the one she bought.

"I never played (Smooth 7s) before," said Mauro, an associate manager at Regal Cinemas. "That's the only reason I bought it." Mauro said she wasn't quite sure what to think when she scratched the ticket during a break at work to reveal a jackpot symbol.

"I thought I must have scratched something wrong," she said of the new ticket. "I thought it just had to be a mistake." Mauro said it took quite some time to convince herself she was a $1,000,000 winner. When asked what that moment felt like, Mauro replied, "It's like eating your favorite candy bar…very sweet."

As is the case with most New York Lottery instant games, the top prize on the Smooth 7s game is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Following her initial payment, Mauro will continue to receive an annual net check totaling $33,015 through 2029.

The mother of three said she planned to use the money to outfit her house with a new roof and furnace. "I don't need luxuries," she said without hesitation. "I already have everything I need."

Mauro purchased her ticket at the Tops market on February 3, 2010 and claimed it at the Lottery's Buffalo Customer Service Center the next day. She is the first Niagara County Lottery player to claim a cash prize valued at $1,000,000 so far this year. Other recent Niagara County Lottery Millionaires include Betty Ross of Niagara Falls who claimed her $1,000,000 prize on The Price is Right instant game in April of 2009.

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 2008-09 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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