*Immediately rushes out to buy a handful of ‘All Cash’ scratch cards.*
In Ireland, scratch cards are generally something handy to throw in a birthday card or a hot ticket to an appearance on Winning Streak, but in the United States, they can obviously be significantly more lucrative.
According to Irish Central, Bronx Irish barman Michael Moriarty won a tasty $7 million (approximately €6.29 million) after buying a Cash Blowout ticket while out doing his laundry in Woodlawn, an area of the Bronx popular with Irish people for generations.
In a resounding endorsement of the belief that sometimes beginners do have all the luck, it was the first time that Moriarty (56) had ever bought the scratch card, having purchased his ticket at the Woodlawn Gift Shop on Katonah Avenue while he waited on his washing.
“I dropped off my laundry down the street and decided to stop into the gift shop and buy a Lottery ticket,” Moriarty is quoted as saying on Irish Central.
“I never played this ticket before so I was shocked when I realised I won the jackpot.
“I am a very punctual person and I had plans to meet my daughter. Scratching off the ticket made me two minutes late meeting her!
“I honestly have no clue what I will do with the winnings. To start, I’ll take care of my family. I’ll have to think about what I’ll do after that.”
Moriarty will actually only receive $4,361,280 (approximately €3.92 million) in a lump sum payment once ‘required withholdings’ are looked after, a sum that’s still quite a spicy meatball, as Homer Simpson might say.
The New York Lottery, meanwhile, sounds like it’s something that’s well worth a punt on; Moriarty was the 27th person to win in excess of $1 million from the Lottery so far in 2017.
If all this talk of vast sums of money has got you dreaming, remember that Friday night’s Euromillions jackpot will be over €100 million.
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