Utica Woman Recycles Her Bottles and Cans; Uses Proceeds to Buy Jackpot-Winning "Million Dollar Scratch" Game

UTICA, NY (05/30/2012)(readMedia)-- Stay-at-home mom, Diane Przybyla is a regular at the Price Chopper on Genesee Street in Utica and a frequent visitor to the store's bottle redemption area. Recently, Przybyla got a very practical reminder of just how rewarding recycling can be.

"I spent $7 in bottle money to buy three Lottery tickets before doing my grocery shopping," said the Utica native. Przybyla said she put the tickets in her purse with the intent of scratching them later, at home. She made it as far as the vegetable aisle before changing her mind.

"I scratched the Million Dollar Scratch and saw a match on the number 3 on the top and bottom of the ticket," she said. It was a match worth $1,000,000. "I called my brother right away because I needed someone else to see what I was seeing," said Przybyla. "I left the store and drove to my brother's house. It was the longest 20 minutes of my life," she said.

Once signed and verified, Przybyla opted to put her Million Dollar Scratch winner in a safety deposit box until she was able to claim her prize. Przybyla redeemed her $1,000,000 winner May 9 at the Lottery's Customer Service Center in Schenectady.

The top prize on the Million Dollar Scratch ticket is paid as $50,000 a year over 20 years. Przybyla will receive an annual net check totaling $33,090 through 2031. "I couldn't believe it then, and I still don't believe it," said Przybyla whose plans for the money remain on the practical side. "I'd like to get a computer for the kids and a new car for me," she said. "A summer vacation with the kids would be nice, too."

Przybyla is the second Oneida County Lottery player to win a Lottery prize of $1,000,000 or more in 2012. Hung Tran of Utica claimed his $1,000,000 prize on the 20X The Money scratch-off game in January.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing nearly $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2011-2012 to help support education in New York State. The Lottery's contribution represents nearly 15 percent of total state education aid to local school districts.

New York 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.

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