Kids & Family

Nearby: $5M Lotto Scratch Off Sold at New Hyde Park Gas Station

Franklin Square resident Leonarda Diaz wins big in Maximum Millions scratch off.

Story by Geoffrey Walter

Franklin Square resident Leondra Diaz was just following her normal routine on her way to work April 19. That included buying a lottery ticket at the Shell gas station at 1500 Jericho Turnpike in New Hyde Park.

She said she picked the Maximum Millions ticket because it was a new game. The choice paid off as Diaz took the top prize of $5 million.

“I scratched the ticket in my car and when I realized I won, I had to pull over because I was shaking so bad,” she said. “Then I called my sister.”

The Maximum Millions is a new lottery game that launched April 2.

Diaz claimed the winning ticket later that day at the Lottery’s Garden City Customer Service Center. The top prize on the Maximum Millions game is paid in one lump sum payment and Diaz will receive a net check totaling $3,309,000 after required withholdings.

Diaz said she knows exactly what she wants to do with her prize. “I was planning on buying a house for my family. Now I can buy two houses close to each other for my parents, my children and my grandchildren.”


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