Park it yourself! Gregory Velez quit his job as an attendant at a Battery Park City parking garage after winning the lotto jackpot with numbers he purchased at a South End Avenue news store in February.
BY COLIN MIXSON
An attendant at a Battery Park City parking garage won millions playing CASH4LIFE on a whim at a South End Avenue magazine store on Feb. 25.
Usually, skipping out on work doesn’t pay, but on a slow day earlier this year, freshly minted multi-millionaire Gregory Velez found out that sometimes it can pay off big.
“I was bored at work that day so I decided to go across the street to buy a lottery ticket,” explained Velez, 58. “I asked the guy behind the counter what game I should play and he suggested CASH4LIFE because the drawing was that night. I never played the game before so I told him to give me a Quick Pick ticket.”
The big winner didn’t realize he’d hit the $7 million jackpot until hearing that the nearby Southend News had sold the winning ticket, and he opened his wallet to realize his life would never be the same again.
“The day after the drawing somebody at work mentioned that the store across the street sold the winning ticket,” said Velez. “I checked the numbers on my phone and then went back to the store. I went totally numb when I realized that I actually won.”
At first, the stunned Velez didn’t know what to make of his good fortune, but soon the revelation that he was filthy rich sunk in, and his next step became clear.
“I walked around the block a few times to clear my head and then went back to work to let them know that I quit,” he said.
Velez, who chose to receive the money in a lump-sum payment of $4,632,600, will use his prize to buy a new house, where he plans on “taking it easy” in addition to traveling to one of the happiest place on Earth.
“I have two daughters and a granddaughter that I plan to take to Disney,” he said.
