By Charles Hack
A Bronx man was rewarded for his devotion to his Brooklyn mom on Valentine’s Day, with $10,000 a week for life. Lottery winner Bryan Panell was all smiles when he received his $10 million display check at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan on February 14. Panell’s life changed when he was visited his mother on January 26. Feeling lucky, he borrowed a few dollars from his wife, Maria, popped into Ruby Grocery at 265 Lee Ave. and bought a $20 scratch-off Win For Life Spectacular lottery ticket. The 44-year-old’s luck was in. His ticket had a string of magic numbers, that guaranteed him $10,000 a week—pre-tax—for the rest of his life. But Panell, a carpenter, is not letting his newfound wealth go to his head. He is giving half the money to his wife and he is not going to quit his job anytime soon—despite the tidy income. “I am a union carpenter and I will always be a union carpenter,” Panell told reporters. And he is going to use the cash wisely, investing in real estate and buying a new family house. His only disappointment was that his wife, who he fell in love with at first sight, was not able to attend—even though it was their 17th anniversary—because of sickness in the family. The romantic Panell expressed his love for his wife as Michael Desiderio, general manager of Tavern on the Green, presented his first check for life. The game allows players 15 chances to win the weekly income for life, and guarantees a minimum payout of $10 million. He will receive his $520,000 annual prize in quarterly payments of $130,000, before tax. Panell was not the only lucky guy that day. Thirty-one-year-old Jay Sung of Flushing received a $41 million Lotto jackpot prize for the state lottery’s Jan. 18 drawing.
