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 ›

What is it with all this lotto modesty? Most of those 20 Costco employees on Long Island who won a $201 million jackpot say that they're sticking with their careers. Now a visit to the "Albany Seven" who split a $319 million jackpot reveals that none of them have engaged in the sort of risk-seeking, insane behavior that most Americans are just a a ticket away from displaying? One winner is barely "in the process of getting a dishwasher." How are they doing without crocodile-skin Bentleys? Where are the winner-take-all craps games on drug smugglers' yachts in international waters? 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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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. more ›

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! more ›