New York judge won $3 million in “scratch-off” lottery to buy newspaper
Andrew Piraino, a 68-year-old municipal judge in upstate New York, won $3 million by scratching off an instant lottery ticket.
Salina Town Judge, 250 miles north of NYC, said I was buying your newspapers like any day when you notice a new lottery scratch-off game and decided to spend $10 on a ticket to try his luck.
“I couldn’t believe it… I was a little surprised.”
Judge Andrew Piraino on winning the lottery
Piraino bought the ticket “Triple Red 777” at “Kieffer’s Cigar Shop” in Liverpool (NY) on September 9. “It looked interesting and it was a new game,” she told Syracuse.com. “I think it only came out for about a week at the time. I asked and it cost me $10 per ticket.”
The judge thought that if he got back the $10 it cost, he would just buy another ticket. He then went to his car to scratch it and he won the grand prize of $3 million. “I couldn’t believe it… I was a little surprised.”
At which point he took his ticket to his law office to see if others thought he was reading it correctly. He then made an appointment with the regional office of the state Lottery to register his prize.
Piraino took his winnings as a lump sum and reportedly will receive $1.5 million after taxes.
“Now I tell everyone who knows someone who paid $800,000 in taxes”, joked Piraino, who has been a municipal judge for 29 years. He said that he plans to allocate most of his lottery winnings to the retirement.
He also plans to give part of his prize money to his recently married 27-year-old daughter and buy his wife a new four-wheel-drive pickup truck.
News of his winnings has started circulating among friends, many of whom are calling to congratulate him. “I keep telling them I don’t have the money yet,” he said.
The game that Piraino won, “Triple Red 777,” offers four top prizes of $3 million. The chances of winning a base prize are 1 in 4.24; and that of a larger chest is 1 in 4,629,000, he limited New York Post.
Last Monday in the Halloween Powerball drawing no one matched all six numbers, but two players from New York did win $1 million and $2 million. The lack of a winner the accumulated increased to $1,200 million dollars for tomorrow Wednesday.
Other lucky ones in upstate New York won $50,000 each in Powerball this weekend. Those tickets were sold in The Bronx, East Durham, Modena and Yorktown Heights. Two weeks ago a Mega Millions player won $1 million in Brooklyn. In August someone won $1 million in Mega Millions in Queens. In July, two New Yorkers won $1 million in Mega Millions, with tickets purchased in the Bronx and Staten Island. In September 2021, a ticket sold at a Midtown Manhattan pizzeria achieved $432 million in that same lottery.
In a curious case, this week the New York State Lottery reported that it had erred in announcing a winning amount that turned out to be much less in the game. New York LOTTO.
Who is fight gambling addiction or know someone who has it can find help by calling New York State’s toll-free and confidential HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369); or by texting HOPENY (467369).
