When a single mother realized she had the winning ticket for a $13.5 million lottery, she just told her diary. Brooklyn resident Sharisee Frails told reporters, "I didn’t tell anybody initially — I simply just wrote it down in my secret diary." more ›

That shady New York lawyer who claimed he was representing the winner of a 2010 $14 million Iowa Hot Lotto jackpot has now withdrawn his bid for the money. Crawford Shaw told the Des Moines Register he was out of the hunt and the paper reports, "Apparently even Shaw doesn't know the identity of the person or persons behind Hexham Investments Trust, the group that sought the prize. Shaw told Iowa Lottery officials that the trust was a corporation in Belize." more ›

On December 23, 2010, the winning ticket for Iowa's Hot Lotto was purchased at a QuikTrip in Des Moines. No winner emerged—until just before the December 23, 2011 deadline. A lawyer from Bedford, NY claims he holds the winning ticket, worth over $10 million in cash payout, but now Iowa officials are considering a criminal probe. more ›

The elusive winner of the huge $208 MegaMillions have been confirmed by the NY State Lottery, but the winner's identity is still a mystery. Newsday reports that the winner "has come forward with the ticket purchased at King Kullen, said a spokesman for the supermarket chain." more ›

The $206 million Mega Millions number was announced last night—and it turns out that a winning ticket was sold at a Long Island King Kullen supermarket. And what's more, it was bought last night, before the 11 p.m. drawing! Frank Vassalo, who manages the King Kullen in Middle Island, told 1010 WINS, "All we know so far is that it was purchased last night at the store it could possibly even be an employee which would be exciting." more ›

A Staten Island man proved that he's luckier than you yesterday by collecting the $14 million jackpot in the New York State Lottery. According to the Post, 50-year-old Edward Foti usually purchased his lotto tickets at a Brooklyn Deli, but on August 17 he was moved to buy it at Clinton News on Clinton Street in Brooklyn. He found out the next day that he won, but returned to his lunch break as usual. "I ate my ham and cheese sandwich," he joked to the Daily News. Lesson: always obey those impulses to stray from your routine. more ›

The story of the three very lucky Greenwich, Connecticut wealth managers winning the $254 million Powerball has turned from a "Rich Get Richer" story to a possible "Rich Protect The Richer" mystery when one man claimed the trio were fronting for a client. But the three men's trust, the Putnam Avenue Family Trust, issued a statement, "There has been much speculation and quite a bit of misinformation over the last 24 hours... To be clear, there are a total of three trustees and there is no anonymous fourth participant." more ›

The 12th biggest Powerball lottery was November 2nd's $254 million jackpot, and the winning number came up in Connecticut. Today, the winners stepped forward and it turns out they are Greenwich-based wealth managers who formed a trust to protect their winnings. According to the Hartford Courant, "At a press conference at lottery headquarters, an attorney for the trust said one of the men, Tim Davidson, has purchased a single $1 ticket at a Stamford gas station. Jason Kurland, the attorney, declined to discuss the relationship among the men, other than to say they all work at Belpointe LLC, which described itself on its website as offering wealth management, real estate and legal services." more ›

Yesterday was a Halloween that eight New Yorkers will never forget. That's because yesterday was the day they were given their oversize checks from the New York State Lottery. All in all winners from Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Long Island took home a collective $23.5 million (before taxes) from the Lottery event at the Abracadabra midtown store. And, as you hope for in a lotto tale, the biggest winner had the biggest "aw" story. more ›

A group of 20 Long Island Costco workers claimed their $201.9 million Powerball jackpot yesterday in front of the store that most say they'll continue to work at. The 8 women and 12 men decided to accept their winnings in a $106 million lump sump, which is around $70 million after taxes, or $3.5 million apiece. more ›

The odds of winning the grand prize for Powerball are one in 195 million, and a group of Costco employees on Long Island have handily beaten those odds, winning a $201.9 million jackpot. (It has a lump-sum value of $106 million.) The winners' workplace—but not their identities—was revealed today, and a Costco employee who was not a member of the Costco "lottery club" tells Newsday one of the winners insists "she is going to keep working. Everything is still the same." But not everyone who won is completely insane; the man credited with founding the lottery club, who works at Costco as a greeter, is said to have already quit his job. more ›

A Long Island mother says that her son's sarcastic prayers were answered...when she won the lottery. Gloria Bentivegna won $1 million in an instant lottery game, and credits her son with divine intervention—and he was a non-believer before his mom hit the jackpot. "There's so many coincidences. Sure, I could brush it off as another freak incident. But to do so would be just stupid -- would be ignorant on my part," her son Sal told Newsday. more ›

Meet state worker Michael Kosko (not the winner pictured here). As you can see from this photo in the NY Post, Mike's a Yankees fan. But after losing out on a $319 million lotto jackpot because he didn't have the $2 to join the office pool, he should probably retire that cap and come on over to the Mets. (As Hunter S. Thompson once said of Las Vegas: "Learn to enjoy losing!") Yesterday Kosko, who works in the IT department of the Homes and Community Renewal agency in Albany, talked to the press about losing the lottery. And by golly, he's determined not to let it ruin his life! more ›

The NY State Lottery office confirmed that the winning ticket for the $319 million Mega Millions jackpot—which was sold in Albany—was claimed earlier this week. Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman said, "Late in the day [on Monday], we got a call saying, 'Can we come in?' As expected, they were busy meeting with the people they wanted to meet with before they came in here." People being lawyers and financial consultants. It's believed the winners were seven state employees, which means each one would get over $19 million (after taxes). more ›

Winning $319 million is life-changing—even if you have to split it seven ways. So we're guessing that the winners of Friday's $319 million Mega Millions jackpot, who are rumored to be NY State workers, are trying to get things in order and consulting with lawyers and financial planners (like other big winners) before identifying themselves to the state lottery offices. Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman told the Post, "Ninety-nine percent of the people coming in winners do it that way these days. Three-hundred and nineteen million is an unimaginable amount of money. Most want a plan before the money enters their hands." more ›

So that winning ticket for the $319 million Mega Millions that was sold in Albany? As it turns out, the winners seem to be a group NY State employees—the Post reports, "The winning ticket was one of several bought by members of an office pool at a convenience store less than a block from their workplace... Other sources said the winners work for the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal." more ›

There was a winning ticket for the now $319 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot—and it was sold at a convenience store in Albany! The AP reports, "New York Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman says the winning jackpot ticket for Friday's drawing was sold at Coulson's News Center, located just a few blocks from the state Capitol." more ›

Yesterday's $355 million Mega Millions jackpot fostered many dreams, most of which are dead today. Psychics and spiritualists believed that the winner would be a woman (probably a Gemini) from New York... but the two lucky ticket holders are out-of-towners, from Idaho and Washington to be exact. According to CNN, their odds were one in 176 million! And the psychics weren't totally wrong, there were eleven $250,000 Mega Millions Winners from New York. more ›

Will it happen to you? Tonight's mega Mega Millions lottery has a pot of $330 million, and a Bronx spiritualist has predicted a woman from New York will win! The prediction comes from Chris Ochun, who also noted that the woman (probably a Gemini) will have to split the money with "someone from out of state." According to the NY Post, he used snail shells to find out that some lucky numbers are "5, 6, 52, 55, 44 and 27"—though those aren't necessarily the winning numbers. We are not snail shell experts, but maybe this means ladies should pick up their tickets at a bodega on one of these streets? more ›

The Brooklyn mom who went from rags to riches by winning a recent $54MM Mega Millions jackpot has picked up her big check. The Rikers corrections officer has been bankrupt and homeless, but now 34-year-old Garina Fearon has got herself $22,723,873 after taxes. She told the NY Post, "All my life, all I ever wanted was a home for me and my family and a car. I already had both even before I won this money. Now I can focus on my work and my family. That’s what’s important to me now." more ›

A 34-year-old Rikers Island guard, Garina Fearon, may now have more money than some of the famous inmates she's had to look over during her time on duty. Fearon won $54MM in last week's Mega Millions drawing, and she told the NY Post, "I wanted a better life. I was struggling as a single parent. I've really come back from nothing." Yep, it's the feel good story for your Friday afternoon! more ›

Though you may like to believe that playing the lottery will always be an honest and upstanding addiction, the state Lottery Division says they've had to revoke the lottery licenses of quite a few stores over the past few years, 12 of which have been in the city. Dynasty Deli in Queens is the latest to be accused of a lotto rip off, but before that there was S&M Deli & Grocery on 7th Avenue. Though with a name like S&M, who could possibly suspect them of being shady? more ›

The 18-year-old deli clerk who allegedly tried to steal a retired man's winning lotto ticket says it was all a mistake, and they really did "miraculously" find the "lost" ticket right as State Police showed up to the deli. He told investigators that it was just an accident, and his brother backed him up, saying, "He was tired and threw out the ticket by accident, The guy came back and they looked for the ticket in the trash and couldn't find it. Then, the cops came and they found it." It was just that coincidental! more ›

A shifty Queens deli clerk attempted to cash in on an MTA retiree's big "Quick Pick" winnings last month by lying to him about his ticket's worth. However, his plan was foiled by an electronic scanner. Curse you, technology! more ›

Some people steal to cover for their lack of talent, while others steal out of love. But Richard Bassik steals because he has a $25,000-a-month lottery addiction. Bassik is a Manhattan property manager of Downtown Properties who admitted to embezzling $2 million from his clients in order to support his habit. He was charged with funneling money meant for taxes, maintenance and other necessities for 13 buildings into his own secret accounts. more ›

A sneaky guy known only as the "rubber band bandit" is on the loose, scamming 15 shops in the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan out of scratch-off lottery tickets. The scam artist works by asking cashiers for a stack of scratch-off tickets, and then asking them for something else to keep them distracted. While they're turned around, he switches out the pile with a pile of used tickets with a fresh one on top, so it doesn't look any different. He then makes up some excuse and leaves with the new tickets. One deli owner says he walked out with $800 worth of instant-win tickets. Investigators better move fast, because the bandit is sure to catch his big break any day now. more ›

Every time a local hits the Mega Millions jackpot do you consider getting in on the action; what's a buck a week, anyway? The latest winner purchased his $64MM winning ticket at 72 Lucky Lotto in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn—where owner Dharmesh (Danny) Chokshi plans on making signs to announce the big win happened there. He also told the Daily News, "I wish the winner all the best. I just hope they appreciate it." It's unclear if Chokshi is looking for a little tip from the winner, but he'll already be receiving $10,000 from Mega Millions for selling the ticket. As for the winner, the Brooklyn man will be revealed in the future, but for now the paper notes he chose to take the lump sum of $42,049,934—before taxes. more ›

State officials refused to grant a gaming license to the politically-connected consortium selected by Gov.Paterson to open a casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack—meaning the company will not install slot machines at the Queens facility or receive the lucrative contract. "The Division of the Lottery has concluded that it cannot issue a gaming license to Aqueduct Entertainment Group. Therefore, the State has officially withdrawn its support for AEG," the governor's office wrote in a statement. more ›