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 ›

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 ›

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. more ›

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. more ›