Ten Southern Tier Area Lotto Players Split $7,000,000 Jackpot Prize

First New York Lottery Millionaires To Collect Prize Checks In 2009

Ten friends and coworkers from Thomas & Betts, an auto parts manufacturer in Horseheads, are the first New York Lottery millionaires to collect jackpot prize checks in 2009 after winning $7,000,000 from a live Lotto game drawing held in early December.

The winners rang in the New Year at a celebration at the Arnot Mall in Horseheads, where Lottery Drawing Personality Gretchen Dizer presented a ceremonial oversized prize check to the group and also commemorated the 30th anniversary of the twice-weekly live Lotto drawing game.

The group joins over 1200 New Yorkers to win a million dollar jackpot playing the Lotto game, a game that has generated more than $7.2 billion in Lottery education aid since its debut in 1978.

Group Started Lotto Subscription A Decade Ago

Lois Hamilton and her daughter Deb, both of Horseheads, Chemung County, started a Lotto Subscription ten years ago. Over the years, the pair recruited eight of their friends and coworkers to pool their money for a chance to "hit the big one - Lotto."

The group of ten calling itself, "The Found Treasure Gang" hit paydirt when the random set of quick pick numbers assigned to the group matched all six numbers randomly selected in the live Lotto drawing held on December 3, 2008. The collective stroke of luck will leave each winner with a "nice financial cushion" for many years to come.

The spokesperson for the Found Treasure Gang, Lois Hamilton of Horseheads, said news of the group's good fortune was a little overwhelming at first. "It didn't seem real at first," admitted Hamilton. "We started the Lotto subscription way back when just for fun. I never expected this. I don't think any of us really expected this."

In addition to Hamilton, the other members of "The Found Treasure Gang" include:

-Bonnie Blake of Breesport -George VanGorden of Addison

-Candice Ferriter of Wellsburg -JoAnn Hanley of Elmira

-Martin Fitzgerald of Elmira -John Slovak of Erin

-Mary Gunderman of Horseheads -Karen Tompson of Horseheads

-Deb Hamilton of Horseheads

The group opted to receive their share of the $7,000,000 Lotto Jackpot prize in 26 annual payments. Their first payment of $140,000, less required tax withholdings, will be split evenly between the ten winners amounting to $14,000 each. The group's remaining 25 payments will all be on an increasing schedule and will be paid annually. The winners all have different plans for their newfound fortune. They include home improvements, saving for retirement, paying off bills and saving for their children's education.

Approximately 77,000 New Yorkers participate in the Lotto Subscription program. The group is the 46th to win or share a Lotto jackpot since the subscription program's inception in 1981. They are the third subscription winners this year joining Judith Kelly of Mahopac, who won a $12 million jackpot on January 9, 2008 and David Endres of Manhattan, who won an $11 million jackpot on November 1, 2008.

The New York Lottery contributed nearly $2.6 billion to help support education in New York State on revenues of $7.549 billion in fiscal year 2007-08 - - a profit margin of 34.3%. The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, earning over $34.2 billion in education support statewide since its founding over 40 years ago.