Sweet dreams are made of this — a $20 million lottery ticket.
Long Island, New York, hospital worker Cameron Finney was so stunned over winning the Mega Millions jackpot he slept with the ticket under his pillow for two days.
Then he realized there was a better place for it.
"I went to the bank to put it in a safety deposit box — after I slept with it for two days," Finney, 48, said after coming forward to claim the prize Thursday.
The married Southampton father's life was forever changed after he ate a chicken dinner with his wife at Popeye's on March 25.
On their way home, Finney bought $4 worth of quick pick tickets at a Gascon gas station in Coram.
The next morning, while checking the tickets at a convenience store near his home, a clerk told him he won $1 million.
"I just kept saying, 'Oh my God. I won a million dollars,'" recalled Finney who rarely plays the lottery. "I can live on a million dollars."
He immediately called his wife, Donna, a Cablevision executive specialist. But she wasn't buying it.
"My wife kept saying, 'Quit playing. Quit playing. We didn't win,'" Finney said.
After hanging up with his dubious spouse, Finney received even better news.
"The clerk went over it again and said, 'Oh my god. You won $20 million.'"
Finney's jaw dropped. He called his wife back but again she thought he was just yanking her chain.
So Finney passed the phone to a random customer who confirmed that she and her husband were now multimillionaires.
"I didn't believe the man," Donna Finney said. "I was like, 'I don't know you. As far as I know, my husband could have paid you.'"
But there was no doubt Thursday as Finney, Donna and their 23-year-old daughter, Christina, were presented with an oversized check worth $20 million at lottery office in Plainview.
Finney has opted to take the lump sum of $7.4 million after taxes.
Finney is planning to purchase a home in East Quogue as a gift to his wife and a new Dodge Ram to replace the one they wrecked last year.
He also has his sights set on a more luxurious vehicle.
"I always wanted a Bentley so now I'm going to buy a Bentley after I buy my wife a house," Finney said.
He's planning on quitting his job as a Southampton Hospital orderly and is still trying to figure out how to deal with his newfound popularity.
"My phone is constantly ringing," Finney said. "Before I won, nobody called."
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Congrats to the winner. He better invest some of the money that will make him some money.
Home in east quoque runs to a mil and also the tax alone could dry you out in a few years .
"I went to the bank to put it in a safety deposit box" Anything you put into the bank, the bank considers as "theirs". Think about what happened in Cyprus.
Heres something else to ponder http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/is-your-money-safe-at-the-bank-an-economist-says-no-and-withdraws-his/
This is why i always buy a ticket even when the jackpot is low.
3rd line down was the winner...would have been nice to know in the article.
Qp's - nothing wrong with them at all...when it can win a multi-million dollar jp, I'll play them anyday!
Wonder how the clerk thought it was just a million? Wouldn't it tell them on the screen??
Excellent win and a HUGE WTG!! Great story...especially the part about sleeping with the ticket under his pillow.
He probably didn't sleep at all.
As young as he looks and he's quitting his job already to live the good life as he puts it, only hope we are not reading about you 5 years from now in debt.
It can all happen so fast......
Awwww....'love his story! I wish him more to come...
l hope this fine gentlemen " counts the cost" before going out and doing what he says he will do.
Nevertheless !!!
Congrats!
Based on this article, I hope you get a good financial adviser. Best of luck.
Congratulation Mr Finney
Way to go on your new windfall. Hopefully, he invests wisely:-)
He better seek financial help before he even buys a house or Bentley. Next year he will owe close to $1.6 million more so his windfall will drop to about $5.7 million. If he doesn't go crazy, that amount should last him the rest of his life. Assuming he wants to play it safe and puts it in the bank to collect interest, he should have about 150k in principal to spend every year for the next 40 years.
$150k today will probably be worth somewhere in the $30k range 30-40 years from now.
Congrats to Mr. Finney on his win! He probably should get a new and unlisted phone number though. He's probably going to get tired of all those phone calls.
edit
Based on this article, I hope you get a good honest financial adviser. Best of luck.
there i fixed it for you
Congrats to the lucky winner! Change your phone number, move to a lower COL state, invest most of it, and enjoy yourself!
I'll go one step further:
I hope he gets a good AND honest financial adviser.
Nice win!
Sounds like his wife is non-nonsense. So hopefully they will do well with their money.
I don't think $7.4 Million puts you in the Million Dollar House and a Bentley in the Driveway League.
I wish him the best but I'm a little worried about this guy.
Congrats on your win and with $5 million in the bank you could spend $100,000 a year and live nicely for 50 years.-weshar75
Congratulations to Mr. Finney. Guess he won't be cleaning up bed pans after this windfall. Good for him.
This is amazing, you get hold a giant check for 20 million and you end up with only 5. 8 million in your account by next year .
And the best part is everyone thinks you have 20 mil and you start spending like you have 20 too.
Let us all bow down to UNCLE SAM, the only "relative" that never says thanks after taking your money, or may I, before taking your money. Lottery wins should never be subject to taxation. The money is usually spent or invested, in the Good ol' U.S of A anyway. Most countries in the world, do not tax lottery winnings upfront like we do.
This is why a lottery winner should always have the option, to ham it up in front of the camera, or to fly below the radar and just mind your business.
The look on the girl's face says it all. Congrats to the winner.
"The clerk went over it again and said, 'Oh my god. You won $20 million." Lucky the PATELS were not working that day!!!.
Yeup Ridge...I was thinking the exact same thing....While I hope they put at least 5+ million away as the base to live off....I have a gut feeling it won't last long..... New truck is one thing, Bentley is another...May their investment advisor counsel them wisely and with a strong leash.
With the cash by the time he's done paying all the taxes he's going to have a bit over 5 million. But yeah, he'd be better off making safe, low risk investments and living off the interest/dividends provided from the principal without major splurging.
Finney claims his phone is constantly ringing but before it hardly rang, well he knows why it's ringing now and it's not because of him personally but because of what he has, MONEY. If I had seven million dollars, I would be more concerned on how I could have a very comfortable income off that money before I thought about buying a Bentley.
Your Phone will also be
off the hook confrere if you won the lottery.. It comes with the territory.
The secret is to ditch that cell Phone and pick up a new one- hey: you can afford it ...right?
Low risk investments won't generate much income on $5 million. Interest being paid by most banks are less than 1% with the average being closer to 1/2 of 1%. With $5 million , that would amount to $25k per year so it means he would have to tap into the principal quite a bit to live a nice life. He could probably make a whole lot of money by seeking professional help but I will let others chime in as my knowledge in that field is very limited.
I wish these people all the best, but posing for photos in front of his house and talking about Bentleys, Ram trucks and brand new houses on a $20 mil pre-tax win doesn't bode well for the future.
Why would anyone let the world see where you currently live after winning the lottery? Sweet Jesus...
Come on Arrow- You want Cameron to stand in front of a Waterfall?
His telling us that this is where his at- but his transplanting his family to a better location, what's wrong with that?
My mini concern is that he has not thought this whole thing through- but then again- its his money and he ought to do the right thing with it. If things do not go according to plan, then he needs to get a mirror and point a finger at the person staring back at him. l wish this guy all the best moving forward.