Last-minute ticket nets $3M prize

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

A Clifton Park woman is going to be a millionaire after getting lucky with a scratch-off ticket she bought at the Stewart’s Shop on Route 146 in Halfmoon.

Sarah Williams, 26, bought the winning ticket on Sept. 3, when she was cashing in a $300 prize she had already won.

The ticket she bought that day ended up being worth ten thousand times those winnings, as she won $3 million on a Triple Million scratch-off game.

“I went to Stewart’s to claim my prize and decided at the last minute to get just one more of the same ticket,” Williams said in a news release. “I scratched it a little and was happy to think I won something, and then I scratched a little more and realized I didn’t win $90 like I originally thought. It was more like $3 million!”

The prize, which she claimed Sept. 6 at the Lottery’s Customer Service Center in Schenectady, will be paid as an annuity. She will receive $150,000 a year for 20 years, with her annual net check after taxes totaling $99,045.

“I’m going to buy a new house for my family,” Williams said. “That’s my top priority.”

This is the third time since 2009 that a jackpot-winning lottery ticket was purchased at this Stewart’s Shop.

Pamela Fitch of Mechanicville won $1 million on a ticket she bought in January 2009 and Shirley Fleming of Halfmoon bought a ticket in May 2009 worth $1 million.

When Williams heard about the store’s recent track record, she was surprised by the trend. “Yeah, I guess that’s what you could call a hot spot. I’m glad I live so close!” she said.