TOWN OF LOCKPORT —
Paul Schneider had just gotten off the phone with his girlfriend when he called her back with some breaking news.
“She was teasing me and said, ‘so you hung up the phone with me to scratch your scratch offs?’” Schneider said. “And I said, ‘It’s a good thing I did because I won a million dollars.’”
Schneider, 47, was introduced Tuesday as New York State Lottery’s newest millionaire winner at the NOCO Express Mini Mart on South Transit Road. The town resident won the $1 million prize on the Lottery’s “Big Bills” scratch off game.
Schneider, a lifelong Lockportian, has been buying lottery tickets for years. Still, the win came as a nice surprise, even if he couldn’t believe it at first.
“Wonderful, I really needed it,” Schneider said.
Like most Lottery winnings, Schneider’s prize will be delivered in installments. It will be divided into 20 annual payments of $50,000. After taxes, he will receive an annual $33,090 through 2031.
Schneider will also be the last Big Bills winner. Lottery officials said the Big Bills $5 scratch off game has been retired and replaced with the new 20X The Money scratch off game. The ticket still features a $1 million top prize.
He won’t quit his job at Irish Welding Supply in Buffalo, but Schneider has some plans for the winnings.
“First, take care of some bills, then take a short vacation to Texas,” Schneider said.
Earl Wells, a spokesperson with NOCO, the locally owned company was pleased to see a customer win such a large lottery prize.
“We are thrilled to see them experience something like this,” Wells said.
Schneider becomes the latest local to win big in the New York State Lottery. He is the 17th person in Niagara County and the sixth Lockportian to win a prize of $1 million since 1986.
Peggy Dowell of Lockport won $8 million in a Lotto jackpot in 2006. Kristy McCullum won $3 million in a Lotto jackpot in 2003, while William Knopp took home $2 million in another Lotto jackpot in 2000. Before that, Nancy Scirto won $1 million in a TaxFree jackpot in 1997 and Lester Hemmer won $1 million on the I Luv NY ticket in 1986.
In November 2010, Michael Schmidt of Burt won $1 million on a scratch off ticket he purchased at Budwey’s in Newfane. John Mullins Jr. of North Tonawanda won $1 million on a scratch off ticket from Tops Markets on Meadow Drive in 2007.
In January 2011, Kevin Elledge of Lockport won $250,000. Another Lockport resident who won big is Richard Brown, who took home $119,649 in a September 2011 drawing.
Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.
Local News
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Paul Schneider of Lockport has won $1 million from a scratch off game from the New York State Lottery. Stephen M. Wallace/CONTRIBUTOR
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