New York State Lottery Official Information 2025

🏆 Record-Breaking Jackpots: Top 5 Largest Prizes Won in New York

Notable Mentions: The "1937 Flatbush Avenue Dodgers LLC" was also used by 20 Costco employees who won a $201 million Powerball prize in June 2011. Nancy Viola of Staten Island won $169 million while targeting the Powerball jackpot but won Mega Millions instead. Richard and Mary Morrison won $149 million in December 2009 and established a foundation for non-profits and educational institutions.

⚖️ The $5 Million Stolen Ticket Scandal (2006-2013)

The Crime: In October 2006, Robert Miles purchased a $5 million winning scratch-off ticket at Green Ale Market in Syracuse. Andy Ashkar, a store employee (whose parents owned the store), told Miles the ticket was worth only $5,000. Miles, who was battling crack cocaine addiction at the time, believed him and accepted $4,000 cash. Ashkar kept $1,000 as a "handling fee" and then waited nearly six years before attempting to claim the prize in March 2012 with his brother Nayel.

The Investigation: New York Lottery officials became suspicious due to several red flags: the ticket was purchased at a store owned by the claimants' parents, there was a 6-year delay in claiming, and the brothers asked if they could "avoid the press conference" and take less money. Lottery security planted a story in the media about the suspicious claim, which prompted Robert Miles to come forward and identify himself as the real winner.

The Trial: Andy Ashkar was convicted in May 2013 of criminal possession of stolen property. The judge stated at sentencing: "You exhibited some of the most rapacious greed I've seen in a long, long time." Ashkar was sentenced to 8⅓ to 25 years in prison (later reduced by 3.5 years on appeal). His brother Nayel was acquitted of conspiracy charges due to lack of evidence. Their father Nayef Ashkar, who owned the store, pleaded guilty to filing a false instrument.

The Outcome: Robert Miles finally received his $5 million prize seven years later in August 2013, after he had filed for bankruptcy in 2008 while waiting. The case highlighted the importance of always checking tickets yourself and signing them immediately after purchase. Following this scandal, lottery terminals began implementing additional security features to alert winners of large prizes.

Key Detail: During Miles' testimony, he explained that at the time of the theft, he thought without the physical ticket, it would be "the word of a crackhead against a store owner" — which is why he didn't come forward until the lottery planted the story years later.

📜 Historical Scandals and Early Lottery Challenges

The 1975-76 Suspension: Governor Hugh Carey suspended lottery sales for approximately nine months due to a major scandal involving unsold tickets being selected as winners. This was a significant blow to the lottery's credibility during its early years and led to comprehensive reforms of the drawing process.

The 1986 Mail Room Fraud: State employees manipulated mail-in lottery tickets in a mail room, resulting in over $40,000 in winnings being fraudulently directed to friends and family members. The scandal led to the elimination of mail-in ticket programs and implementation of tighter internal controls.

Impact on Operations: Both scandals prompted significant reforms in lottery security, drawing procedures, and oversight mechanisms that continue to influence operations today. The lottery's recovery from these early challenges and maintenance of public trust is considered a key factor in its long-term success.

🎉 Historic Firsts and Notable Milestones

First Lottery Draw (July 20, 1967): The inaugural New York State Lottery draw was conducted by State Tax Commissioner Joseph H. Murphy at 10:22 AM EST. The raffle-format drawing took more than a full day to complete as all 1,545 winning tickets were drawn by hand from a drum. The first ticket drawn belonged to Charles M. Huckins, a 41-year-old truck driver from Leominster, Massachusetts. The first New Yorker to win was Susano F. Gonzalez of Ossining. The 1,545 winners shared a prize pool of $1.8 million.

Youngest Winner (August 21, 1967): Just one month after the first drawing, a 5-year-old girl from Long Island won $100,000 on a lottery ticket purchased for her by her grandfather. She was the only grand prize winner from that drawing and took home $35,310 after federal and state taxes were deducted. This remains one of the youngest lottery winners in American history.

First Big Winner — Lou Eisenberg (1981): Lou Eisenberg's $5 million jackpot win in 1981 was groundbreaking — it represented the first major jackpot in New York Lottery history and was, at the time, the largest lottery prize awarded anywhere in the world. In that era, winners could not choose a cash option and had to accept annuity payments. Eisenberg's first priority after winning was securing cancer treatment for his wife Bernice, demonstrating how even the earliest lottery winners often focused on family health and security before luxury spending.

America's First Scratch-Off Ticket (September 1976): New York Lottery introduced the first instant scratch-off ticket in the United States. Called "The Instant Game," each ticket cost $1 with a top prize of $5,000. Winners were automatically entered into a draw for "$1,000 a week for life." The tickets featured letters, and players who collected enough tickets to spell "NEW YORK" won $2,500 worth of groceries from a market of their choice. This innovation revolutionized lottery gaming and was quickly adopted by lotteries nationwide.

💸 The Unclaimed Prize Phenomenon

Staggering Unclaimed Amounts: Since 2018, over $833 million in winning New York Lottery tickets have expired unclaimed. As of March 2023, approximately 5 million tickets worth $78 million remain unclaimed, including several prizes exceeding $1 million. Unclaimed prizes represent about 1% of yearly lottery revenue according to industry experts.

Record Unclaimed Prize: The largest unclaimed jackpot in New York State history was a $63 million Mega Millions ticket from 2002. The ticket holder never came forward, and the prize expired after one year, with the funds redistributed according to lottery regulations. This remains one of the largest unclaimed lottery prizes in American history.

Near-Miss Drama: In 2017, Jimmy Smith of East Orange, New Jersey, claimed a $24 million prize just two days before it was due to expire. He had stuffed the winning ticket in an old shirt and only checked it after seeing a television news report about the impending expiration. Other winners have discovered million-dollar tickets in junk drawers, forgotten purses, and coat pockets.

Current Unclaimed Prizes: Multiple $1 million+ prizes expire annually in New York. In one recent case, a $1 million Cash4Life ticket purchased in Bay Shore, Long Island, in May 2023 expired on May 28, 2024, without being claimed. Under New York law, up to $60 million in unclaimed prize money each year is allocated for future lottery prizes or promotional purposes, with excess amounts transferred to the state treasury.

🎲 Extraordinary Events and Unusual Stories

The Sullivan County Anomaly: In an extraordinary statistical coincidence, tiny Sullivan County (population 76,000) produced TWO Mega Millions winners exceeding $100 million within just three months of each other. Harold Diamond won $326 million in November 2014, followed by another resident named Tammy winning over $100 million shortly thereafter. The odds of two mega-jackpot winners emerging from such a small community in such a short timeframe are astronomical.

Weather-Related Wins: Multiple major winners purchased their tickets while seeking shelter from bad weather. Harold Diamond stopped at a Valero gas station on Route 302 in Wurtsboro due to bad weather and bought 10 Quick Pick tickets, one of which won $326 million. Robert Bailey was caught in the rain and ducked into West Harlem Deli, where he purchased the $343.9 million winning Powerball ticket. This pattern has led some lottery players to joke that bad weather brings good fortune.

The Faithful Number Player: Robert Bailey played the exact same numbers for over 25 years before winning his $343.9 million Powerball prize in 2018. The numbers were given to him by a family member, and he never deviated from playing them despite decades without a major win.

First $100 Million Winner: Johnnie Ely from the Bronx became New York's first-ever $100 million lottery winner in December 1999 when he won the top prize in the short-lived Millennium Millions game. Ely, who worked as a cook at the Java Shop restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, elected to take a cash lump sum worth over $44 million before taxes.

🔒 Privacy and Anonymity Battles

New York is one of the states that requires public disclosure of lottery winners' identities for prizes of $5,000 or more. This policy has led to creative strategies by winners seeking to protect their privacy, though New York law is more restrictive than many other states.

Trust and LLC Claims: Many large jackpot winners claim prizes through trusts or limited liability companies (LLCs) to provide some degree of privacy. Examples include "Goodtimez LLC" ($432 million in 2021) and "1937 Flatbush Avenue Dodgers LLC" ($319 million and $201 million in separate wins in 2011). However, the lottery commission still requires identifying information, including valid Social Security numbers for all trust beneficiaries.

Legislative Efforts: Senate Bill S1807 has been under review in the New York State Senate to provide lottery winners with greater privacy protections, allowing them to remain anonymous. As of 2025, the bill has not yet passed, and the legislature continues to debate balancing transparency requirements with winners' safety concerns.

Comparison to Other States: States like Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas allow complete anonymity for lottery winners. New York's mandatory disclosure policy is intended to ensure transparency and public confidence that real people win the lottery, though it exposes winners to unwanted attention, solicitation, and potential safety risks.