Someone in the West Village feels like a million bucks Thursday after hitting the New York Lotto jackpot last night.
Players Cafe located at 241 Bleecker St. sold a winning ticket worth $3 million in the Jan. 8 New York state Lotto drawing, the New York Lottery announced on Jan. 9. To win the Lotto, which is drawn every Wednesday and Saturday, you need to match six winning numbers plus a bonus number from a field of 1 to 59.
The winning numbers in the Jan. 8 drawing were 4-14-22-36-42-57 with the bonus number 30.
As with most lottery games, the odds of hitting such a multi-million dollar jackpot are astronomical. In the New York Lotto’s case, you have a 1 in 45,057,474 chance of matching all six numbers and the bonus number. Just getting a winning ticket of any denomination is difficult; the odds of drawing a winner are 1 in 92. Prizes excluding the jackpot vary, but usually start with a $1 minimum prize for matching 3 numbers.
The lucky winner of Wednesday’s Lotto has a choice of accepting their jackpot winnings as a 25-year annuity or one lump-sum payment. After federal, city and state taxes, the lump-sum payment for the $3 million prize is worth $1,868,920.
If you didn’t hit Wednesday’s jackpot, not to worry. The New York Lotto will draw again on Saturday night, with a $2 million jackpot on the line.