HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — For Edwina Silvera, one dream led to another.
On Oct. 14, the 49-year-old West Haverstraw, New York, resident dreamed of her late father, who told her something special, a message she wanted to keep private, which inspired her to buy a scratch-off game that night.
Against long odds, Silvera landed the lucky "$2,500 A Week for Life" ticket and won the top prize of $2.5 million.
"Normally I buy the $2 ticket and I decided why not splurge? So I did. And I'm glad that I did," Silvera told New York Lottery's Yolanda Vega on Friday at the Railroad Deli in Garnerville, where Silvera bought the winning ticket for $5.
Silvera, who works in hospital administration in Westchester, didn't actually scratch off the ticket until the next night while watching TV.
"I looked at it and said, that's not right," said Silvera, who called her husband upstairs to confirm her disbelieving eyes.
The 20-year Rockland resident, and mother of two adult children, will get $130,000 a year — or $86,034 after withholdings — for the rest of her life. She said the money will let her live life with "less stress." Not bad for someone who only plays the lottery once every six months or so.
"I'm still waiting to see the actual money," she said. "Seeing is believing."
Her big plan for the money: hire a local contractor to finish her basement. And invest the winnings wisely. Silvera happened to buy a new car shortly before she became a millionaire.
She has no plans to retire, even if that means battling traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge to get to her job in Westchester.
"It's a lot but it's not that (much money) for me to not work," she said with a laugh.
Silvera said she's "living in the moment" and looking forward to sharing the good news with friends and relatives. She said she passed on taking a lump sum payment because "I'm young and I'm going to live for a very long time."
"You keep living and we'll keep paying," Vega said.
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Congratulations to Edwina on her win. Hopefully she has a very long life and can enjoy her win for years to come. Interesting that Edwina said "It's a lot but it's not that much money for me not to work". If I won what she did and had $86,034 after withholdings yearly that would be plenty for me to retire on. I definitely agree that the dream of her late father may have inspired her win. I feel luck was on her side since she played so rarely.
The state of MA offers the same game at the same price. In some random weeks I play it instead of playing the PB and MM.
Congratulations Edwina. That's a nice hit.
If I won what she did and had $86,034 after withholdings yearly that would be plenty for me to retire on.
I think many people would agree, but don't forget Edwina lives in NY, where the cost of living is significantly higher than elsewhere in the country.
For me, would it be enough to retire....hmmm....it would be close but it wouldn't be a guaranteed "retire now" income stream. Maybe after 10 years or so. I picture myself traveling in retirement and that in itself can be very costly. If the net amount was closer to $200K or more per year I could see myself retiring immediately.
I'm sure a lot of frequent players frown on her habit of playing only a few times a year, but that just goes to show that anyone can win, regardless how much they play. I think it's a little unhealthy to constantly pursue a dream that may not ever be fulfilled. As I've implied in other posts, it's hard to play catch up when you're in the hole from many losses. But if you've only played every now and then, even small wins can easily cover that and you still have a "chance" to win big. The most likely outcome is a loss anyway, so might as well take your time to getting there.
LM
Congrats to Edwina on her win!
Those withholdings don't represent the real after-tax income. If she was collecting a million bucks she'd probably owe more, but if the $130k is her only income she'll get a substantial refund, and probably have closer to $95k as an after-tax income. That's comfortable enough in her neck of the woods. She can move some place less expensive, but NY lottery income will always be subject t NY state income tax.
What happens down the road is another matter. At 49 there's a good chance she'll need an income for another 35 to 40 years or more. To have an income that's comparable to $95k today will require about $190k when she's 74, if inflation runs 3% per year.
Congrats! That's a nice piece of change! I have to wonder though why the NY Lottery picks and chooses what winners to feature on their website.
She probably wasn't making 86k at her job to begin with so I bet she could retire and live the same lifestyle without issue. If she has time vested at work that's even better because she can add her pension to her income once she is eligible.
Congrats to Edwina! A steady income for a lifetime is a fantastic prize! Must take off a lot of life's pressures.
You're right we do have the same game in our state. Just looked at our MA website and it shows that there are stll 7 winning jackpot tickets for that game. Unfortunately that game has a printout of 40,320,000 tickets and a 1 in 4, 032,000 chance of being a jakpot winner. In the past when I played scratchers I had tried all those week for life games and never won anything on them. It is a great prize for the winners though.
Even though the cost of living is high in that state (same in my state as well) it's much more than I have ever made in a year. So you think you would need $200k or more to retire. I could easily retire on much less and with the exception of playing the lottery have always watched my expenses. You're right that anyone can win regardless of how much they play. Agree with your statement that it is a little unhealthy to constantly pursue a dream that may never be fulfilled. Also agree with your statement saying it's hard to catch up when you are in the whole for many losses. Those two reasons are why I had to reign in my lottery spending a year ago and keep myself on a budget that will allow me to play for the long haul but realistically know the astronomical odds of a lottery win are not in my favor so I no longer feel any stress about my playing since my feet are firmly on the ground.
Congratulations to Edwina.
I know that if I won that prize, I would retire from my current job, because I do not make anywhere near that amount. Then I would look around for a good hobby or interest to keep me active.
Congrats to the winner.
Congrats Mrs. Silvera,Another big lotto win an still no one was struck by lightning or bit by a shark.You don,t play u don,t win.
Congrats Edwina, enjoy!
Another winner !!!
Kudos Edwina .... Invest & spend wisely