Lottery winner finds incredible luck a second time while playing for fun

By Kate Northrop

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York man has now collected two lottery prizes, both valued at $10 million, just about a year apart from each other.

A Brooklyn resident won $10 million for the second time in a little over a year, the New York Lottery announced this week.

Wayne Murray's total winnings have skyrocketed to at least $20 million, with his total take-home generous enough to comfortably keep him in multi-millionaire status for a long time.

The twice-lucky player claimed a $10 million top prize in the Lottery's "200X" scratch-off game, different than the "Black Titanium" ticket he bought in 2022. He did, however, buy both winning tickets for $30 each at H&A Gas & Convenience on Avenue H in Brooklyn.

"It feels very humbling and liberating," Murray said last year while claiming his first $10 million top prize.

He opted to take the lump sum payment of $6,122,400 after taxes for both prizes.

"Some of us just like to be discreet," he told The Post when asked about his feeling on winning the top prize twice. "I just want to be discreet, that's all it is."

Hassan Nabil, who works as a clerk at H&A Gas & Convenience, said that he sees the lottery fan continuing to play because he likes to, incredulously remarking at his unbelievable luck.

"Twice in a row — what are the odds?" Nabil remarked to The Post. "You can't even think about it. It's not comprehensible."

Nabil also said that the two wins, or even just one win alone, did nothing to change who he is as a person.

"He's a super regular guy here," Nabil continued. "He's very friendly with the locals and very generous with his time. He could have moved out of the neighborhood after winning the first time, but he stood his ground. Money changes a lot of people, but he doesn't show off or anything. He keeps it real, keeps it honest. It's a game for him, so he just keeps playing. If you win, you just want to win more." 

Since his first big win last year, it's hard to say how exactly Murray's lifestyle has changed. Neighbors say the millionaire still lives in his quiet East Flatbush three-story apartment, a semi-attached brick home where he's spent most of his life.

His next-door neighbor, whose home is attached to Murray's, didn't even have a clue that she'd been living next to a newly minted millionaire this whole time.

"I had no idea," Constance Bryane, 75, told The Post when approached for a comment. "He's very humble that way. I'm going to have to congratulate him the next time I see him."

She explained that Murray had been living in that same apartment next to her "for decades." He had received the house for free from a relative in September 2021, records indicate.

"That's his house and will always be his house even if he won the lottery a third time," Bryane added. "He took care of his mother and his great aunt in that house until they both passed away. He's all about family and his home and his neighborhood. He's very special that way. He's a beautiful person, a humble person. He's not flashy. He just likes helping people any way he can. If people need a favor, he'll go out of his way to do it."

Following Murray's second win, there is now only one more top prize of $10 million left to claim in the $30 "200X" scratch-off game out of the four originally available at the game's launch. There is also one second-tier prize of $200,000 and one third-tier prize of $50,000 left.