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CORTLANDT, N.Y. -- Marco Volpe, owner of Marco's Vino & Spirits on Westbrook Drive in Cortlandt, said his store is on a lucky streak.
About two months ago, he sold one of five first prize Take 5 tickets, which totaled about $16,000. That paled in comparison to the $10 Set For Life scratch-off ticket that was purchased from a vending machine in his store on July 3 by Michael Rowinski of Cortlandt, who 10 days later returned from vacation with his family to claim a $5 million jackpot.
"This store has been on fire," Volpe quipped. "If it could happen at Marco's Vino & Spirits in Cortlandt Manor it could happen to anyone anywhere."
Rowinski, 64, his wife and two adult children joined Volpe outside his store Wednesday morning with Yolanda Vega, of the New York State Lottery, to officially announce their big pay day.
"I've always tried to help out my family over the years any way I could," said Rowinski, a retired Con Edison worker. "So when I hit the jackpot I knew exactly what to do with the prize money. This isn't just my win, it's a win for the entire family."
Rowinski beat odds of one in 6.3 million to win a guaranteed minimum payout of $5 million over 20 years. The four members of the Rowinski family will each get a share of the annual $250,000 prize, which, after taxes, equals $165,072.
"None of us really have any plans for the money," Rowinski said. "We're all just thankful for the win and will be sure to make good decisions on how we spend it."
Cortlandt resident Mike Guadagno, who was purchasing a few daily numbers at Marco's, was happy to hear about Rowinski's good fortune.
"That's amazing," he said. "I'm in here all the time. I like play Take 5 but I've hit a few numbers a couple of times."
Volpe, who noted his forte' was wine and not lottery tickets, said he sells about $3,000 worth of winning scratch-off tickets on a weekly basis and expects a deluge of customers looking for a stroke a luck of their own.
"It shows that even in these difficult economic times it could happen to anyone," he said.
Aid from the New York State Lottery represents over 15% of total state education funding to local school districts, which totaled more than $3 billion in 2010-2011.
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