Bruce Magistro, a New York construction worker, has won a $1 million lottery prize — twice.
Magistro bought a winning scratch-off ticket at a Long Island gas station on April 11, four years after his first $1 million jackpot,
The Associated Press reported.
"It’s definitely going to change my life this time," Magistro, 48, said,
according to the New York Daily News. "The last time, my wife was sick and needed the money for bills and everything. It gave me the opportunity to stay home with my wife for three years. This time, hopefully, I’ll invest it and make more money off of it."
Tragically, Magistro's wife, Yvonne, eventually lost her three-year battle with cancer, and much of the prize money went to medical expenses.
Magistro, who plays the lottery every day, told the AP that he thought, "This is impossible" as he scratched off the latest winning ticket.
"I just couldn't believe I hit it two times," he explained.
The lottery's Win for Life game will now pay him $1,000 each week for the rest of his life, with a minimum total payout of $1 million. The odds of winning the game were 1 in 7,745,600.
He bought the ticket at Mike's Super Citgo in West Babylon. Mike Abizeid owns the store and his brother owns Johnny’s Mini Mart, where Magistro bought his first winning ticket in 2012,
the Long Island Business News reported.
His first lottery win will continue paying $33,090 each year through 2031.
Lottery representative Yolanda Vega said she remembered Magistro from his first win.
"He was so positive and outgoing that I knew he'd win again," she told the AP. "There was something about Bruce that I felt. There was this energy coming from his core."
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