Local Pair Hit Lottery Jackpots
Two Ridgewood residents who struck it rich on New York Lottery tickets picked up their million dollar prizes during a ceremony at the Resorts World New York Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park last Thursday, July 5.
Kamal Kamu, 37, and Benjamin Colon Jr., 26, were among five winners in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties, who were honored for their good luck and windfalls during last Thursday’s ceremony, in which they received an oversized prize check from the New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega.
Kamu won $1 million by scratching off a winning “Winfall” ticket which he bought on June 7 at the Mount Everest Deli, located at 56-09 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood. The native of Nepal has been living in Queens for the past three years.
“I am very happy and thankful for my win,” he said. “I don’t really know what I will do with the money. I might by a new house. I’ve also been thinking about opening my own business, so this will help with that as well.
According to the New York Lottery, Kamu had been playing the Winfall game faithfully and had won smaller prizes previously before hitting the big jackpot last month. He cashed in his winning ticket on June 8 at the New York Lottery’s office in Lower Manhattan.
The $1 million prize in Winfall is paid out as a 20-year annuity, with Kamu receiving $50,000 every year. Once taxes are withdrawn, his annual net check will be just over $31,000 annually.
Colon, meanwhile, picked up a $1 million second-place prize in the June 9 Powerball drawing, matching the first five selected numbers. He bought his winning ticket two days earlier at the C & B Luncheonette located at 983 Wyckoff Ave.
“I just randomly picked some numbers hoping to hit the jackpot,” Colon said. He later joked, “Obvi- ously, I was disappointed that I was number away from the jackpot, but I’m getting over it.”
The winning numbers for the June 9 Powerball drawing were 18, 22, 45, 56 and 57, with the Powerball being 27. Colon brought his winning ticket to the New York Lottery’s Lower Manhattan customer service center on June 11; after taxes are withdrawn from his $1 million, lump-sum prize, he will receive a check for just over $623,000.
“My plan for the money is pretty simple. I plan on making the money work by spending it as wisely as possible,” Colon added.
