The Bronx's Jimmy Groves came forward yesterday to hold his Mega Millions press conference, his first public appearance since winning $168 million in the big drawing a few weeks back. After reports of Groves boozing up and bumming out fearing the downsides of his big paycheck, yesterday he was all smiles, telling of his big first meal as New York's biggest jackpot winner ever (a hamburger) and about his mom rushing up from Tennessee once she heard. The self-described "homebody" has retired from his job stacking chairs at MSG and said he wants to buy a home with a yard, possibly in the Bronx or Harlem or "places in Brooklyn that are having a resurgence." He said, "I went to Germany. I came back, and New York is the only place for me right now." Like 96% of ticket buyers, Groves said he always chooses the lump sum option, but switched to the annuity on the winning ticket "because it might bring a change of luck." The 49-year-old grandfather tried to downplay his newfound status saying, "I still got to pay my rent, I still got to pay my lights and gas. I'm still just a regular Joe like everybody else. It's just that I got lucky." more ›

The Harlem Mega Millions winner who said that winning the $168 million has turned his life into hell is apparently eager to continue spreading the word and allowing people around him to share in the collective nightmare. A Fordham bodega owner near the one where Groves bought the winning ticket two weeks ago says he came in to buy a six-pack of Heineken and began bragging of the winnings and the fact that he was "not working anymore in my life!" The store owner who encountered Groves tells the Post, "I didn't believe him, because what would a millionaire be doing coming in here and buying candy and beer?" When Groves first revealed himself to be the winner after laying low for a couple weeks, he said, "It's a dream turned into a nightmare. Winning is the beginning. Living with it is pure hell." But now he seems to be in better spirits; the News talks to a liquor store owner in his neighborhood who said, "He came in and bought a bottle of Hennessy yesterday. He was so happy." The Harlem man says he doesn't plan on abandoning his regular spots because "I got my McDonald's and White Castle near me." more ›

The mysterious man who won half of the giant Mega Millions jackpot a couple weeks back when he bought his ticket at a Bronx bodega has finally come forward—and now he might wish that he had kept quiet about it. 49-year-old Jimmy Groves of Harlem gave the Post the usual "I'm going to Disney World" quote, but also revealed a darker side of letting people know about his newfound $168 million. Groves says that his "family is in a position of jeopardy" and has been receiving 40 calls a day from people hitting him up for a hand-out. He tells the paper, "I wake up every morning, and everyone is on me like stink on shit. I know people say, 'Give me that hell.' Be careful what you wish for — you just might get it." Groves may have wished for a little too much attention himself—he was seen last week "toting a store sign bearing the lottery prize amount." He'll be toting an even bigger sign with it soon when the lottery officials confirm that Groves won and throw him a press conference to present one of those snazzy giant checks. The Post says Groves has already quit his job stacking chairs overnight at Madison Square Garden and just this year had defaulted on a credit card. more ›