GREENWICH, N.Y. — Bill Bracken grew up in Averill Park, spent much of his life on Mount Desert Island in Maine, and now lives in Vero Beach, Fla.
At least for now.
"Maybe I will move to Paris," the 74-year-old Bracken said during a New York Lottery press conference Tuesday morning at the local Cumberland Farms just before he received a giant ceremonial check for $3 million. "I have been many times, because I am an artist. I would like to go back."
He will have that opportunity — and also plans to pay off his mortgage and buy real estate — after collecting a payout of $1,667,736 because he took the lump-sum option and the state and federal government took their share of taxes.
Bracken's son Christopher, a Greenwich resident, actually bought the scratch-off "Three Million" ticket in October.
"I gave him $50 and told him to buy five $10 tickets," Bracken said. "He came back out and said, 'You won,' and showed me the ticket."
Bracken, who had been staying with his sister in Averill Park in Rensselaer County, returned to Florida, and when he returned for Thanksgiving, he and his son went to lottery headquarters to cash in the ticket.
When asked why he took so long, Bracken smiled and said, "I am 74. You take your time with these things."
The winning ticket is the first lottery jackpot winner in Washington County since Jeffrey Henderson of Hudson Falls won the "$1,000 a Week for Life" game in 1996.
Two years ago, Magen MacDavid of Queensbury won that same game on a ticket purchased at the Cumberland Farms store on Quaker Road in Queensbury.
Bracken, dressed casually in a dark shirt, black corduroys and horn-rimmed glasses, was relaxed and joking with the small crowd in the store. He received the oversized check from the lottery's John Schnur.
The money will be deposited into Bracken's bank account in a few days.
Bracken, who works in watercolors, had a studio and gallery on Mount Desert Island.
"I was there for 40 years," said Bracken, who is not married. "Being an artist, it was a great place to live."
Bracken said his son had mentioned he'd been having some luck with lottery tickets, so the pair went to the Cumberland Farms.
"He said he was feeling lucky, so I said, 'Let's go out and buy some tickets,' " Bracken said. When they arrived, he said, the elder Bracken waited outside, talking to a friend.
"He came out and said, 'You just won $3 million.' 'I said, 'Let's go back home,' " Bracken recalled.
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Congratulation Mr,Bill Bracken Spend Wisely
Europe in general is not cheap-l sure hope William has counted the cost before moving abroad.
Nevertheless.. . .Congratulations Mr Bracken. Its a great way to start the year off.
Congrats!! Spend it wisley Paris is pretty expensive ;-)
Good for him, but he should consider Italy instead. Even though taxes may be higher in Italy "payola" is easier, thus "saving" you money.
Wow what a story. "I am 74. You take your time with these things." He sounds like a sweet, humbled man. I hope he does move to Paris, and enjoys it.
Exactly where I'd like to move
isn'T his SON thats the right reciepient of the jackpot SINce he was at The right place at the right time ??the money from his dad justbfacilitated the transaction.since hes old he may have walked to store slower then his son and then from a physical ,mathematical perspective b late and not b at the righ time in the store.his son was exactly at the precise time to colect the tiket and should give back the 50$ and demand his jackpot..
Good job Mr Bill Bracken for not flinching while dropping the $50 on the 5 tickets and also for trusting his son's instincts and also for taking his time and planning this money out before claiming.
Wow he beat me to it! My fave story so far. An artist CAN win!!! I can taste those crepes with orange marmalade now.
Here we go another old person winning LOL. I dont know about living in Paris I heard it's kinda expensive. If I won 3 mil I think I'd stay where Im at probaby change neighborhoods though
If I win the lottery, I'd think about moving to Paris, too.
Paris sounds delicious to me too. Might be expensive but when you're 74 yrs old, what the heck?
Paris...Tennis anyone?
Great story! Congrats to the winner.
He currently lives in Vero Beach, FL. That ain't so bad either. Beautiful sand, water, palm trees, golf, tennis...
Really???
I sold yellow pages ads there about 10 years ago. I would drive up and stay the week in a motel, come home on Friday, go back on Monday. After 3 months of doing that and I was pretty tired of Paris.
I think I might move to the hill country.
My future apartment in Paris.
http://www.primelocation.com/overseas/details/27191296?image=1
lol
i would agree with your theory here if the son had purchased a powerball or megamillions ticket on a day when people would be lined up to buy them. but, a scratch ticket was probably sitting there unbought for a longer period of time just waiting for someone to step up and purchase it. suprised the masses on here haven't jumped on you yet for suggesting the son deceive the father. even despicable as i am wouldn't resort to that. after all it was the fathers money that purchased it. selecting a winning scratch ticket depends on one being in the right store (at somewhat the right time, wiggle room here) and selecting the right ticket. anyone purchasing a "quick pick" mega or powerball ticket is about 95% relying on the "clerks" finger movement on the machine. a microsecond of hesitation makes all the difference. it is the sole reason i fill out cards to take that element out of it. if you fill out cards it doesn't matter where or when you buy it. you yourself have total control of your fate on that. anyone who wins on a quick pic should tip the clerk 50 fold compared to one who simply plugs your filled out card in the machine.
Hey Artist, I thought about you when I read the story. Paris seems to be the ultimate goal for many artist such as yourself.
The apartment you referenced in the link looks appealing but at close to $6 million would take a slightly larger windfall than what this winner from NY won.
Here's to you on those crepes and marmalade dreams.
Well, I was just kidding, but if I could find a nice live-water property w/ trees and a good-sized pond/small lake on it, I would. I've looked at (fantasized about) properties in central and north Texas and depending upon how much I won, I'd love to buy one of them. There are a couple around Quitman, Texas I'd love to have, but my dream property is south of Mt. Vernon..."only" 8 million! <grin> I love Texas, my kinfolk mostly all live here, but I can guarantee you I wouldn't move north of these city limits no matter what.
You had to drive up to Paris? What, you didn't let your fingers do the walking? <wink>
Beautiful study/library. I have a friend here in town who has a library in an extra bedroom; when the power goes out, he and his wife go in there to sleep- with books on all four walls, it's the best insulated room in the house!
I like mine with Nutella! At the crepe stand across from Notre Dame my favorite crepes in Paris! Wish I was there right now!
Not sure if it would effect the guy in the OP or who it effects but the other night Yahoo Finance had an artcile about France considering a 90% tax rate.
Congratulations, Bill Bracken, on your over $1M after income taxes lottery scratch jackpot win! You would probably have more fun continuing living near your son and doing more fun stuff here in the good 'ole U.S. of A. than living in a foreign country -- where it is taxing to develop close relationships and understand what people are saying, most of the time. Perhaps it would be entertaining enough (and WAY cheaper) to you to merely vacation for a few weeks in a different country each year or so. Bill, you have a great, loving son!
LOL. I thought you were! I was just thinking there probably aren't too many folks that ever heard of Paris Tx. In fact, I believe there was a movie made in or about Paris Tx. I never watched it though. Have you?
Yum, That looks good.
Y'know, I thought I'd seen that flick, but after looking at the IMDb listing for it, don't remember it if I had. I met a British woman online and she came over to see me several times and one cold weekend we stayed home and watched movies about Texas/filmed in Texas (Hud, Giant, Last Picture Show, Waltz Across Texas, etc.) and I thought we had watched it then, but.... I got one of those Texas-themed emails the other day - you know the ones, all brag and a little shy on facts - and this one listed towns/cities in Texas with names of food, animals, etc. and one list was foreign city names of Texas ones, including Paris. (there's a London Bridge here in town, all of about 20' long)
I don't have any desire to visit, much less live in France, all respect to Artist. I understand why she would, more power to her, hope she gets her dream someday, but the only place I want to see in France is Normandy, the invasion beaches and cemeteries. Paris? Nah, I've worked on enough drilling rigs, don't care to see that big ol' derrick in the middle of that town. <grin>
Someone from NYL is getting fired. Their not suppose to let the northerners win. The NYC players are gonna be in a uproar when they hear about this.
indeed a nice place and thanks for another great real estate link
as for me I'd like to find a decent fixer-upper like this
Thanks for the info on this gorgeous home in Marseille. This is when you hit the really big jackpot, since it's listed for over 4 million in Euros. Never saw such an outstanding home. The French high society have good taste, if you like the Louis the 14th style of living.
Mr Bracken might be able to rent an apartment in Paris for awhile, with his million dollar jackpot, or live comfortably in the USA free of a mortgage, if he knows how to shop for an affordable home.
I'd settle for an American farm house with fire places,and lots of acreage for horses. But that's just me.
Good job Bracken fellows!! Congrats to both of you. Moving to Paris is a brilliant move on his part simply because that's what HE WANTS TO DO!!! And that's all that matters, especially at his age. As far as cost is concerned, not an issue. He can simply pay off his mortgage here and rent it out for additional income if he wants while away. No need for him to purchase anything in Paris, simply rent a small/medium size flat for anywhere between 1500-3000 euros a month and enjoy the city....then take trains to South of France etc. If approach smartly, the interest he'll be able to receive from the remainder of his lump sum would easily cover living expenses in France. Perfect set up for the old man. Way to go buddy. Good for you!!!
I love the apartment Artist. I like the "traditional" styling. Nice.
LOL
I am 'older' and will buy a house in Vero should I win my Jackpot!
I agree with you Poly. I'd like to live in the sunshine and warmth of Florida. I'll save Paris for romance and tennis.
lol I know. That is the one I will buy if I win a super big JP and net close to $ 200 million. Even then something like http://www.apartmentsforsaleparis.com/two-bedroom/merlot.php would be easier to rent out when I am away but I would still have to net about $20 million before I bought that one.
Why is he contemplating Paris? Does Paris have a good lottery?
He should contemplate Italy.
All the best food is made and grown in Italy.
Fuggedhaboiout.
This Australian guy asked me if i had a Crepe so he could work under his car. After five minutes i figured out he wanted a Creeper.
Are you sure he wanted a creeper?
Maybe he asked you if you had a Crepe, because he really wanted to know where the latrine was?
I imagine he does not want to relocate to such a corrupt place, especially Naples. The garbage situation there is unbearable. i had to walk in the streets at some places because there were mounds of garbage blocking the sidewalks.
I have eaten Italian food in Italy and I was not impressed. I find Japanese sushi, and Jamaican, Ugandan, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Nigerian, French, and Indian dishes of all sorts to be much more delicious than any of the pizza and pasta dishes I ate while on several different work trips to Italy's Amalfi Coast.
if I were him, I would merely visit France because Hollande is trying to pull an Obama. "An Obama" is synonymous with lack of leadership, lawlessness, cronyism, mismanagement, lack of accountability, and outright lying for political purposes.
LOL!
74 and still has a mortgage guess that is why he is playing the lottery
Illinois politics at its best{worst}, for the last hundred years. Currently, there is a short, extremely rotund, loud-mouthed pin-head, in NJ, that takes it up a notch, to a completely new level. Paris is a beautiful place, and even more so, a beautiful state of mind, if you have the MONEY, and know where to look. "Merely visiting" Paris because of bad feelings towards Hollande, is akin to merely visiting the Good ol' USA because there is a lot of HORSE $HIT in Illinois.
Starving artist no more. When he dies, his $25 paintings will most likely be fetching upwards of $100,000.00 or more depending on how well he is marketed.