Utica Man's $1,000,000 20X The Money Win Makes Him Oneida County's First Lottery Millionaire of 2012

VERNON, NY (02/14/2012)(readMedia)-- Hung Tran, 59, of Utica, Oneida County, routinely stops at the same store every day on his way home from work to pick up his Lottery tickets. But January 13 turned out to be anything but routine for him. That was the day Tran purchased a 20X The Money scratch-off ticket, and won the $1,000,000 top prize making him the first Oneida County Lottery millionaire of 2012.

"I scratched the ticket right there in the store and was shocked," explained the Vietnamese born Tran. "I had the cashier scan it to be sure, and then I went straight home."

Tran purchased his winning 20X The Money ticket at the Hannaford on Mohawk Street in Utica. He claimed his prize on January 23 at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Syracuse. "I picked this ticket because it was one of the newer ones. I've won some prizes in the past, but nothing like this," he said.

Like most Lottery scratch-off games, the $1,000,000 prize on the 20X The Money ticket is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Tran will receive an annual net check totaling $33,090 through 2031.

Tran's plans for his million dollar windfall are simple. "Most of it will go toward retirement. I will also send some back to family I have in Vietnam to help them out too," he said.

About the New York Lottery

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.