Forty-six year old Robert Whitby will certainly have great memories of this past Memorial Day as the day he became $1,000,000 richer. Whitby was taking a much needed break as the owner of Rob's Towing & Auto Repair, when he stopped at his local Cumberland Farms for a coffee and two lottery tickets - a Win For Life Spectacular and his winning $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket.
"I scratched my tickets in my driveway directly after buying them," said Whitby, the father of two. "When I realized I'd won, I screamed so loud my neighbors ran out to my car to see what was wrong!"
Whitby purchased the $1,000,000 winning $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket on May 25, 2009 at the Cumberland Farms on East Main Street in Middletown. He claimed the ticket the following day at the Lottery's Hudson Valley Customer Service Center in Fishkill.
As is the case with most New York Lottery instant game prizes, the third prize on the $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket is paid as a 20-year annuity. Whitby will receive his prize in annual payments of $50,000 a year before required tax withholdings. His annual net check will total $33,015.
After working almost seven days a week for the past twenty years, it is no surprise Whitby's big plans for his winnings include a vacation. "I'm taking my family on a cruise," he said. "Then, I want to take a trip to Disney World and have lunch with Mickey Mouse," he joked.
"I scratched my tickets in my driveway directly after buying them," said Whitby, the father of two. "When I realized I'd won, I screamed so loud my neighbors ran out to my car to see what was wrong!"
Whitby purchased the $1,000,000 winning $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket on May 25, 2009 at the Cumberland Farms on East Main Street in Middletown. He claimed the ticket the following day at the Lottery's Hudson Valley Customer Service Center in Fishkill.
As is the case with most New York Lottery instant game prizes, the third prize on the $500,000,000 Extravaganza ticket is paid as a 20-year annuity. Whitby will receive his prize in annual payments of $50,000 a year before required tax withholdings. His annual net check will total $33,015.
After working almost seven days a week for the past twenty years, it is no surprise Whitby's big plans for his winnings include a vacation. "I'm taking my family on a cruise," he said. "Then, I want to take a trip to Disney World and have lunch with Mickey Mouse," he joked.
