Results tagged “lottery”

The multi-state lottery drawing, Mega Millions, was up to $333 million when last night's drawing occurred—and one of the two winning tickets was sold in the Bronx! The winning numbers: 1-17-31-37-54, and the Mega Ball number was 31. The Daily News reports, "After taxes, the cash payout is estimated at $210.4 million. If no winners emerge, the jackpot will go up to $430 million - the largest lottery payout ever." Lottery ticket sellers wouldn't mind, as bigger jackpots mean more sales; a Lower East Side bodega owner said, "Some people buy $20 and $50 worth of tickets. One guy bought $100 worth today." And Newsday reveals, "Three New Yorkers, including one in Queens and one in the Bronx, hit for the second prize, worth $250,000. They had all five numbers correct, but failed to hit the Mega ball." Late last month, MTA worker Aubrey Boyce revealed he won the July 7 Mega Millions jackpot (he took a $55 million cash lump sum from the $133 million total) three weeks after the drawing.

Dispersing two winning lotto tickets in eight weeks is pretty good PR for your store. The NY Times reports that is exactly what has happened at Shiv Convenience Store in Jamaica, Queens. You may recall that one local won the $133 million jackpot there in July, and this past Sunday another man took home $66,053; both times the machine chose the numbers. Lottery HQ in Schenectady told the paper, "We have 16,000 retailers. When I saw the Shiv Convenience Store, I was like, ‘get out of here.’” In 2007 a similar streak happened at a store in Astoria (but three times in a row). Owner of Shiv, Bharat Patel, says he doesn't buy tickets at his own store because he doesn't want customers to think it's rigged, but he is very enthusiastic when a customer wins. When he discovered this week's winner, he lifted the man (a Popeye's employee who played frequently) off the floor, and screamed, "You won! You won!” Meanwhile, the Lotto is getting a makeover.

The latest feel-good lotto story comes from the Midwood section of Brooklyn, where 19-year-old Waqas Mazhar picked up a $5 scratch-off ticket that made him a millionaire! While on his way to a cricket game with friends in May, he purchased the winning ticket in Garden City, Long Island, but didn't bother cashing it in until he was in the area again... in July!

Former MTA worker (he already quit!) and new multimillionaire Aubrey Boyce would probably like to take his lotto winnings and buy a new name. The Queens resident finally picked up his $133 million from the Mega Millions folks at Grand Central yesterday—a nearly $55 million (post tax) lump sum payment—on a giant check made out to the mysterious "Archibald Trust" (a fund Boyce created and appointed himself trustee of).

Guess you can't just win millions upon millions of dollars and expect to keep a secret. The mystery man or woman behind the winning Mega Millions ticket is unveiling him or herself today and picking up the winning July 7th pot. The ticket, purchased in Jamaica, Queens, was the only one to have all 6 matching numbers, giving the winner the entire $133 million payout. The NY Post reports that the winner "will get a lump-sum check for nearly $83 million, before taxes, from New York lottery officials at Grand Central Terminal." The employees at Shiv Convenience, where the winning ticket was printed out, are anxious to find out which of their customers has been keeping their fortune a secret. Store manager Bharat Patel said, "It's going to be a surprise. But I'll know the person as soon as I see them." The store also gets a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket. If this story is giving you lottery fever, tonight's Mega Millions jackpot is $60 million—if you win that's a $2,307,692 annual, or $35,210,000 lump-sum payout. Decisions decisions. UPDATE: The Daily News reports the winner is 49-year-old MTA worker Aubrey Boyce, who works (worked?!) as a collections agent making around $50K a year. He'll take home the lump-sum of $56.7 million after taxes.

If you're in Queens, start watching the sidewalk for stray lottery tickets! The Daily News reports that the person who purchased the winning Mega Millions ticket at the Shiz Convenience Store on Hillside Avenue, has yet to come forward and cash in the $133 million golden ticket. The paper notes that there was only one ticket that matched all six numbers in last night's drawing, and the winner had the computer pick the numbers. This Friday the jackpot is down to $12 million—have you been playing more during the recent economic downturn in an effort to bail yourself out?

For Isabel Zelaya, all it took was $3, a dream, and ignoring Friday the 13th superstitions—and he won $26 million in the Mega Millions lottery. Zelaya, an immigrant from El Salvador, said his friends told him not to play the March 13 lottery, but he always buys lottery tickets on Friday and did so. He opted for the lump-sum payment of $17,716,535, which will bring him just over $12 million after taxes. Zelaya told Newsday that he quit his night shift job at a graphics company and plans on funding college educations for his children, giving money to his sister, moving and many more things, "I know I don't want to go back to work in the factory."

People truly win the Publisher's Clearing House Prizes! Yesterday, Doris Gray, a math teacher at Paterson, NJ's PS 12, got the surprise of a life time.

There's nothing like a real-life heartwarming tale around the holidays. This feelgood story happened in Queens and involves a 92-year-old woman, a 24-year-old store supermarket clerk and a discarded scratch-off lottery ticket. NY1 and the Post report on Mary Alice Fallon, who is now a millionaire.

Senator Charles Schumer will hold a lottery to determine which New Yorkers will get to attend the inauguration for President-elect Obama on January 20. Schumer's office has 350 tickets to give out of the 240,000 total. But don't get your hopes too high--over 100,000 requests have already come in. New Yorkers can enter the lottery by faxing the senator's office or registering on his website. The deadline is November 30 and the drawing will be held the first week of December. "The inauguration of a new president is always an exciting event. But I think we all realize that this year is special," Schumer said.

While doorman turned million-dollar lottery winner Richie Randazzo has become a bit despicable to some, there's one person who really hates him. Or at least Randazzo's dumb luck: Building superintendent Ray Otero, who worked across the street from Randazzo, tells the NY Times he spent $30,000 last year on the lottery, which clearly means he should have won the big payday, not Randazzo who spent in the two-digits on tickets per week. Otero, who spends hundreds on lottery tickets each week, said, “When I heard he won, I got so mad — I said to myself, ‘I can’t believe it.' I spend all that money and the [unprintable fellow] wins? It’s wrong. I mean, I’m happy for him. But it really isn’t fair.” Related: Here's the Wiki entry on Gamblers Anonymous.

The best chance for the Knicks to make a quick return to respectability bounced away with the drop of a ping pong ball in the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night. In reality, they fared exactly as they should have, but for fans desperately hoping to see Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley in a Knicks’ uniform next year, it was a disappointing night. The Knicks wound up with the sixth pick and the Nets, who had a minimal chance of moving up, will pick tenth.

School teacher and aspiring novelist Matthew Thomas won the jackpot in the New York apartment lottery when he scored his Upper East Side studio apartment, around the corner from Elaine’s, for just $14,000. Literally; the man won the right to buy the apartment in a lottery that makes available a minuscule number of apartments to people with incomes under $49,625. The units are part of 24 Mitchell-Lama co-op buildings in Manhattan and most applicants wait a decade for a shot at one.

A 22-year old Manhattan deli clerk that took the late shift on New Year's Eve lucked out when he bought himself a winning scratch-off ticket. While everyone else was welcoming 2008 with friends and family, the Yemen native's wife and baby were still living a world away, so Waleed Alsaidi bought himself a little present at his family's deli in Harlem to pass time on the lonely shift.