Syracuse Woman Wins a Million on Lottery's New 'Win a Million' Instant Ticket

SYRACUSE, NY (07/27/2010)(readMedia)-- The New York Lottery today introduced 82-year-old Etta Beard of Syracuse, Onondaga County, as a top prize winner of the Win a Million Lottery scratch-off game. The Lottery's Yolanda Vega presented Beard with her over-sized check just three weeks after three New Process Gear co-workers collected their $26,000,000 Mega Millions prize.

Beard explained that, in a way, she owes her good fortune to the Mega Millions winners who preceded her. "I was at the winner event a few weeks ago at Price Chopper when those gentlemen received their big Lottery check. I even tried a piece of their millionaire's cake hoping their good fortune would rub off on me," she said.

Beard returned to the Price Chopper on Erie Boulevard East in Syracuse on July 14th to do some grocery shopping and saw the new Win a Million instant ticket in the vending machine. "I always keep an eye out for the new tickets when they come out," she said. "I saw the Win a Million ticket and said to myself, 'that's what I want to do.'"

Beard, originally from Georgia, has lived in Syracuse since 1968. She plans to use her windfall to make some home improvements to her house so she can live a little more comfortably.

Beard bought her $1,000,000 winner on July 14th and claimed her prize at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Syracuse later that day. As with most Lottery instant games, the $1,000,000 prize on the Win a Million game is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Beard will receive an annual net check totaling $33,015 through 2029.

The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, earning more than $39.3 billion in education support statewide since its founding over 40 years ago. The Lottery contributed nearly $2.67 billion in fiscal year 2009-2010 to help support education in New York State, which was over 12 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.

###