A Rocky Point 7-Eleven played host to the New York Lottery today as New York Lottery Draw Team Member Gretchen Dizer awarded $5,000,000 in prize checks to four jackpot winners from Long Island.  A zesty octogenarian from Westbury received a $3,000,000 scratch-off prize while a $1,000,000 prize-winner from East Islip returned to the store where he purchased his lucky ticket.  A husband and wife from North Babylon rounded out the lucky crew with their $1,000,000 jackpot prize.

$3M Scratch-Off Winner from Westbury Thanks a ‘Lightning Stroke of Luck’

“I was on a streak of luck, a lightning bolt from heaven,” 80-year-old Isabel Allacco of Westbury, Nassau County said when she claimed the last remaining $3,000,000 $3,000,000 Richer jackpot at the New York Lottery’s Garden City Customer Service Center on September 15.

The grandmother was running her usual errands on August 12 and made her usual stops for groceries and lottery tickets.  “Whenever I have money, I buy lottery tickets,” explained the Long Islander. 

Allacco scratched her $3,000,000 Richer ticket in the store and handed it to the clerk saying, “I don’t think I won anything.”  “I think you won something,” the clerk responded.  Moments later, Allacco realized her good luck.  She purchased her winning ticket at B&N Stationery Corp on Old Country Road in Plainview. 

Her streak of luck continued with another scratch-off win of a couple hundred dollars and a lucky trip to Atlantic City.  “Let’s just say, I’ve won a lot,” she professed. 

Allacco worked as a senior clerk in the financial industry and retired from Depository Trust Co. in 1999.  She plans to use this windfall to fix up the house she has lived in for over 50 years and take care of herself.  “And my family will be well taken care of,” she added.  In particular, she plans to set money aside for her only grandchild’s college education.

As is the case with most New York Lottery scratch-off games, the top prize on the $3,000,000 Richer ticket is paid as an annuity. Allacco will receive her $3,000,000 prize as $150,000 a year for 20 years. Her annual net check will total $99,045.

‘A condo and a Cadillac’ is East Islip Lottery Winner’s Plan for His Lottery Windfall.

It didn’t take long for retired NYC Transit Police Officer Glen Pacifico, 51, to decide how he wanted to spend the money after he claimed a $1,000,000 Sweet Million jackpot in Garden City on October 5.  “I want a condo and a Cadillac,” said the lifelong New Yorker.

He matched all five Sweet Million numbers drawn on September 26.  The East Islip resident said it took him a little while to claim the prize because, “I get busy at the end of the month with my pension check coming in.” 

Pacifico said the Lottery is a big part of his retirement routine.  “I went to 7-Eleven for my ticket on the day I won, and the next morning I went to get coffee and the winner info printout.  It’s part of my morning routine -- I go get coffee, eat breakfast, and check my lottery.”  It took him a couple looks to confirm that one of the five rows on his ticket had all the winning numbers for the September 26 drawing.  “I had a $5 card,” Pacifico explained.  “Rows A, B and C were my numbers and rows D and E were Quick Picks.”  He won on the second set of Quick Pick numbers.

The 7-Eleven on North Country Road in Rocky Point was Pacifico’s lucky Lottery location.  “I love their coffee,” he said of his preferred retailer. 

He will receive his Sweet Million prize as one lump sum payment of $660,300 after taxes.

Pacifico’s parents may have a different hope for his plans.  “When I retired, my mom told me to move to Florida, but my friends and family are on Long Island,” said Pacifico.  “I might take a little trip though.  Vegas, here I come!”

A Lottery Ticket Worth $1M is a Thank You Gift to a North Babylon Husband and Wife

“We offered to give our great aunt a ride to a family baptism and her thank you card had a Lottery ticket in it,” explained Mark and Dianne Cooper, ages 51 and 52 respectively, of North Babylon, Suffolk County.  “She doesn’t drive.”  That act of kindness was repaid a millionfold when they scratched the Lots of Green ticket and revealed a jackpot prize of $1,000,000.

“We got the card on September 30th,” Mark explained.  “I scratched it at home while Dianne was on the phone ordering a pizza.  I had her hang up.”  Dianne explained their reaction, “We just stared at it in disbelief.”

The winning ticket was purchased at Kunal & Runhit on Parsons Boulevard in Flushing, Queens.