Two Winners from Staten Island, One from Hempstead Long Island Collect $5,000,000 in Lottery Prizes

WEST BRIGHTON, NY (02/16/2010)(readMedia)-- The New York Lottery's Gretchen Dizer today presented three recent winners from Staten Island and Long Island with their Lottery prize checks totaling $5,000,000. The winners include New York's first $3,000,000 jackpot winner on the popular Fat Wallet instant ticket.

West Brighton Mental Health Technician Hits Jackpot on Sweet Million; Played the Game Because he Liked his Chances

Fifty-four-year-old Pablo Saldana buys Lottery tickets for the chance to become an instant millionaire. He decided to try his luck on the Lottery's Sweet Million game because he liked the odds. "I thought my chances of hitting the jackpot on this game were better so I decided to buy a ticket." The strategy paid off when Saldana won the $1,000,000 top prize on the Sweet Million drawing held on January 21, 2010. The odds of hitting the $1,000,000 jackpot for Sweet Million are 1 in 3.9 million, the best odds for any of the Lottery's Lotto-type games.

Saldana said he realized he had won when he saw the numbers posted on television the morning after the drawing. "I saw that the numbers on my ticket matched the ones on the television and I got very excited. Once I calmed down I called my wife Cornelia but she didn't believe me," he said. "When we stopped back into the store and saw the 'we had a winner signs' she became a believer."

Saldana bought his lucky Sweet Million ticket on January 21, 2010 at Forest Cards and Gifts on Forest Avenue in Staten Island. He claimed his ticket on January 27, 2010 at the Lottery's Customer Service Center on Manhattan

Saldana said he and his wife plan to take a small vacation with their children and save for retirement. "I really love my job and plan to continue working for at least 10 more years; without worrying about retirement."

Saldana will receive his $1,000,000 Sweet Million prize as a one-time, lump sum payment. His net check will total $623,820.

The New York Lottery introduced the Lotto spin-off game, Sweet Million, in September 2009. The game offers players a twice weekly chance to win up to $1,000,000 in cash. In the event there are more than five $1,000,000 winners in a single game, each winner will receive an equal share of the total $5,000,000 top prize monies available for that drawing.

Rossville Bus Driver Takes a Break While Doing Laundry, Hits $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot

It was a routine night for forty-one-year-old Rosario "Sonny" Scilabra, of Rossville. He was at the Laundromat and decided to pass the time by scratching a New York Lottery instant ticket. What started as a typical evening ended with a surprise.

"I walked over to the card shop to buy a Lottery ticket while doing my laundry that night," explained Scilabra. "I noticed the signs in the store for the new $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot game and decided to try one. I scratched it and saw all those zeros and ran out of the store jumping up and down. I totally forgot about my laundry and ran straight to my mother's house to show her."

Scilabra purchased his winning $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot ticket at the Card Corner II on Rossville Avenue in Staten Island on January 11, 2010. He claimed his ticket at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Manhattan on January 12th.

"It truly is a life changing experience," said the MTA bus driver. "Words can't describe what it feels like to be an instant millionaire!"

As is the case with the most New York Lottery instant tickets, the top prize on the $1,000,000 Instant Jackpot ticket is paid as an annuity. Scilabra will receive his prize in 20 payments of $50,000 each. His yearly net check will total $31,191.

The father of two has some very generous plans for his winnings. "Family means everything to me. This money will allow me to do something special for my parents and save for the kid's college fund." The newly minted millionaire also has some advice for other players. "Keep the faith. Like the guy in the commercials says, 'Hey, You Never Know!'"

Hempstead Hills Maintenance Worker Hits the First $3,000,000 Jackpot Prize on the Popular Fat Wallet Instant Ticket

Forty-four-year-old Henderson Hardy of Hempstead Hills Long Island, like most New Yorkers, plays the Lottery for the chance to strike it rich. On January 22, 2010 Hardy's chance purchase of a Fat Wallet instant ticket made him an instant millionaire.

"It felt like having your life flash before your eyes," said the maintenance worker for Park Lake Residences. "I really can't describe it. It's an amazing feeling!" Hardy purchased his $3,000,000 winner at the A-Plus on Peninsula Boulevard in Hempstead on January 22, 2010 and claimed his prize the same day at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Garden City. "I showed the ticket to a few family members just to make sure it was real. Then I went straight to Lottery offices to claim it," he said.

As is the case with the most New York Lottery instant tickets, the top prize on the Fat Wallet ticket is paid as an annuity. Hardy will receive his prize in 20 payments of $150,000 each. His yearly net check will total $99,045.

Hardy, who describes himself as "the calm, easy going type," has no big plans for his windfall. "I will let all of this sink in before I make any big purchases. I will definitely take care of my family and then treat myself to a nice long vacation. Somewhere warm for sure."

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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