New York Lottery:

Gregory Velez, 58, of New York is looking forward to enjoying life after winning the $7 million drawing with Cash4Life.

It was boredom, which led the parking garage attendant stop off at End news during his usual shift and possibly the clerk who notified Velez of the large prize up for grabs. He isn’t a regular lottery player, so when it came to picking a ticket, the computer selected the numbers on his $2 Quick Pick Ticket. Velez didn’t think much of his purchase, not even bothering to watch the drawing.

The realisation came after talking to his co-workers, that he could be a winner. He headed over to End News, where the store clerk greeted him with excitement, however Velez asked to double check the numbers, he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. The ticket matched up all six numbers: 2, 16, 19, 33, 39 and Cash Ball number 3. Velez says he had no idea how to react! He thought the prize was $1,000 a week, not $1,000 a day for the rest of his life, he’ll be accepting this as a lump sum of $4.3 million.

His first decision was to immediately quit his job, where he’d worked for the past 3 decades, before travelling back to his house in New Jersey. Now Velez’s plans include taking his daughter and grandchildren to Disney World, and moving into a smaller two-bed apartment. “I’m very low key. I’m not changing” said Gregory Velez.