Seven Albany state workers won $319 million lottery prize

Comment #49

belle$star3! — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:37:09 GMT

That is so great for you to say that. I congratulate each person that won!!! Enjoy your riches

Comment #48

butterflykt — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:56:25 GMT

Congrats to the lucky 7......praying others will be able to say congrats to me too

Comment #47

rdgrnr — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:01:26 GMT

I didn't know why the Mega Millions Jackpot rise from $312 to $319 million?

I'd venture to say they maybe sold a few more tickets.

Just a wild guess.

A shot in the dark.

Comment #46

Win$500Quick — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:48:35 GMT

Congrats to the big winners. Remember the Lucky 7 co-workers from California who won$315 in Mega Millions in 2005. Lawsuits from co-workers and ex-husbands from the past all had their hands out. Happy to see more than one person got to share the massive jackpot. But my lottery pool consist of 1 player. Me.

Comment #45

dpoly1 — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:38:31 GMT

Considering the fact that they are State Workers , they were already in the process of pillaging the tax payers for a plush retirement

Comment #44

weshar75 — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:19:39 GMT

That is a nice retirement for them. Congrats to the winners.-weshar75

Comment #43

rdgrnr — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:51:31 GMT

More ticket sales equal more winners and more losers, simple as that.

As far as Wisconsin being a bad luck state, the only thing I can figure is that the fumes from all the cheese (primarily the Limburger) put the whole state into kind of a catatonic malaise.

And that's never a good thing.

Comment #42

brucevang — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:25:16 GMT

I was hoping this jackpot rolls to a record $418 million but oh well..! lately the pb and mm jackpot has only been hitting in New York, California and Ohio, are these the lucky states? or does people gamble more in these states? I dont even remember the last time it was hit in Wisconsin. -- Bad luck state.

Comment #41

ressuccess — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:39:19 GMT

Congratulations to them winning the jackpot. I didn't know why the Mega Millions Jackpot rise from $312 to $319 million

Comment #40

HaveABall — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:50:32 GMT

Excellent graphic so that people can visually see what politicians, no matter which side, end up forming an amalgamation of [history has shown us that several have changed party sides during their lifetime, afterall!]. It is possible that, initially, the politician has 'some idea' of what to do if elected; yet if you later research, the majority end up conforming, which means that results are a culmination of essentially no help to the citizens of that country. It took me decades to understand t... [ More ]

Comment #39

BuyLow — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:23:50 GMT

Dems may historically vote for higher taxes but in the scheme of things....

Comment #38

rdgrnr — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:10:35 GMT

...which one of us here voted for these ridiculous high taxes?

That's an easy one.

Anyone who voted for the Democrats voted for ridiculously high taxes.

Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that.

Some people actually want ridiculously high taxes and it's their right to vote for that.

And it's the nature of the Democrats to give it to them.

Comment #37

TheGameGrl — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:13:46 GMT

The facts are: They won, and millions of ticket holders lost. I get to sit amongst more folks that lost then the few that won. Consider me a lucky loser :)

I care zilch for a group win...thats seven more problems, I'll take one problem and solve it myself :)

As a member of I can win it alone, I stand firm in the beleif that one person can make sensible decisions.

I am curious if we the people in essence regulate govtment thru our voting, which one of us here voted for these ridiculous h... [ More ]

Comment #36

HaveABall — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:19:58 GMT

Even better is ... 7 more net MULTI-millionaires! The difference means retirement from some daily grind

Comment #35

TheOtherOne — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:58:01 GMT

How do they even know it was this group of people that won it, if they havent come forward yet?

Seems very specific that they know it was a group of 7 people from this business.

So much for anynimity.

Congrats to them though...great to see fellow IT folk winning some love! (even though me and 3 other comrades also *tried* to have our hand in the jar too

Comment #34

dallascowboyfan — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:31:59 GMT

Congrats to all the winners......

Comment #33

Piaceri — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:21:10 GMT

I'm your huckleberry...

I'm proud to stand up and take one for the team.

Comment #32

nelliemarie — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:16:13 GMT

awesome, 7 more millionaires. congrats,congrats,congrats

Comment #31

larry3100 — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:21:24 GMT

We do know one thing,someone has bought a $319 million winning ticket from Coulson's News Center,in Albany,New York .This is a mainstay down town news service and convenience store. The news media got on it over the weekend, when the lottery offices was closed.I been looking for a confirmation that seven government office workers did win the Mega Millions jackpot.Congratulations to the winner or winners

Comment #30

dpoly1 — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:09:09 GMT

I always hope for 1 person to win because it drives the greed of envy crowd nuts

Comment #29

OldSchoolPa — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:02:15 GMT

I agree with your thoughts in the first paragraph, but not the second one. I don't care what the cash value jackpot amount I take home, be it $50M or $5million, I have no friends I could see giving any of it to. Of course, I would take care of my mother and brother (I have 3 as well as 3 sisters...trust me, I would not even begin to put myself out there as the family bank because 1 bro and 1 sis in particular would drain me penniless). And the only charities I would support are my own charity...... [ More ]

Comment #28

OldSchoolPa — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:54:08 GMT

IT types tend to be anal-ytical so perhaps they have their ducks in a row (email signup and verification of payment for particular draw).

Coulson's store owner Steve Hutchins, 63, will get a $10,000 bonus from the state Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

It's very neat to know someone who comes into my store is going to be very wealthy from a ticket we sold them, Hutchins said. It makes me feel warm inside.

I can't say I share Mr. Hutchins sentiments...actually, anytime I s... [ More ]

Comment #27

dpoly1 — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:37:01 GMT

I hope that they enjoy paying the enormous taxes that it takes to pay State Employees

Comment #26

hearsetrax — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:32:50 GMT

Comment #25

savagegoose — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:32:33 GMT

we should start a sweepstakes,

how long untill the law suits start on this one.

i 'll take april 22

Comment #24

budward — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:09:03 GMT

I never could stand on roller skates...hehehe

Seriously, congrats to the winners

Comment #23

ttech10 — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 04:09:09 GMT

Since I didn't win it glad that a group did, spread the wealth. Also if just one person were to win and they let the money control them it'd be another case of Jack Whitaker where the opportunity just goes to waste. Hope these people make the most of this amazing opportunity.

Gonna see if I can take home the PB jackpot or even the new MM, both would be great. With $50M I could spread it around friends/family/charity while with the MMs jackpot of $5M I can go about living a quiet life.... [ More ]

Comment #22

Jon D — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:55:17 GMT

Of course, retailers do not enter into lottery contracts based on the contingency of selling a jackpot winner. Their primary income will be the 6% on ticket sales, but also the 0.5% of top prizes is across the board on most draw games.(up to $1,000,000 max) The merits of the larger top prize selling bonus are debatable, but the higher profits can give them more of an incentive to increase sales and to actually want their customers to win. That can help them with a positive attitude with a smile

Comment #21

KY Floyd — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 01:26:54 GMT

It seems awfully generous to me. It's 10 grand more than they get for every other ticket they sell, and it's for exactly the same amount of work. I really don't undertand why the lottery just *gives* money away. I doubt that any businesses are making the decision of whether or not they want to be a retailer based on the very small chance that they'll sell a jackpoot winner, so what does the state get for their money

Comment #20

sully16 — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 01:26:49 GMT

Congrats to the winners. Nice to see so many get to share the wealth.

Comment #19

Grace $Favour — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:40:33 GMT

This article here says the winners bought SEVERAL Quick picks and considering the respond that nickey t posted yesterday regarding how much New Yorkers spend on lotteries, i can't help but wonder how many quick picks this group brought. Does anyone know yet? Just curious

Again as big as they spend on lotteries, obviously, the the state is making big bucks off lottery, why are they paying the store so low? I guess Big spenders = low payers. That's a shame

Comment #18

michimac — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:07:13 GMT

........looks like Uncle Sam is also a big winner here....it's pathetic how much the winner has to give away before they even get any !!.........

Comment #17

maringoman — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:13:23 GMT

I dont understand why guys here are so against many people pooling together to play and actually winning. I mean, all of them will earn millions of dollars after all is said and done. Is a shared jackpot not a jackpot? And even if some guy in the group didnt put in his share and sues to claim some of the pot, it still is a lot of money.

Dont sweat the small stuff

Comment #16

freeobama — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:35:52 GMT

I think it is the 7 way split!!Too many fingers in the cookie jar

Comment #15

hearsetrax — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:29:04 GMT

I dunno which kills me more

the fact that the numerous tickets were bought @ such an old store or the fact it was a 7 way split amongst IT GEEKS

Comment #14

mightwin — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:16:09 GMT

Yep, too many cooks spoil the stew. I'd rather throw down some extra cash and take it all home.

Comment #13

rowlettewheel — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:29:28 GMT

wow thtas great that they won ...

Comment #12

freeobama — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:36:34 GMT

I highly doubt NY will win this powerball jackpot,NY won 2 of the last 3 powerball jackpots and they just won the Mega Millions

Comment #11

freeobama — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:26:56 GMT

100-200 million may seem like a lot of capital but it can be spent just as quick as it came

Comment #10

Boney526 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:14:19 GMT

I'm actually very glad it was hit by a group.

One person getting 100-200 million is just so much. Splitting it up 7 in a group is just so awesome.

Comment #9

freeobama — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:13:02 GMT

Congrats to the lucky 7!! This powerball jackpot belongs to me and me only

Comment #8

Jon D — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:53:16 GMT

Yeah, exactly. This weekend, there is some poor IT guy doing server backups at DHCR instead of at home celebrating, who when asked by one of his lucky 7 co-workers if he wanted to join the lotto pool said, Nah, I'm good dude, but you guys have at it. Man, that's gotta hurt!

If a co-worker or neighbor hits it big, is your lottery karma all used up for this life

Comment #7

maringoman — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:29:17 GMT

With the economy being so down, I hope that some of them will leave their jobs so that unemployed people with similar skills can find work.

I'm happy for the winners and I hope the money brings them joy.

Comment #6

rdgrnr — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:28:25 GMT

In these winning pool situations I always wonder about the people who were asked if they wanted to get in the pool and declined because:

The lottery is such a waste of money .

Do you know what the odds are on that?

No thanks, I work too hard for my money to throw it away on pipe dreams.

I can understand being sensible and realistic but sometimes cheapskates just use that as an excuse to be a tightwad.

I never could stand being around a cheapskate.

Comment #5

Littleoldlady — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:00:25 GMT

This is another pool win. Hope it doesn't end up with you were supposed to put me in for this week or any other type of claim.

Comment #4

Jon D — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:16:11 GMT

Coulson's store owner Steve Hutchins, 63, will get a $10,000 bonus from the state Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Is that all they pay stores in NY for a jackpot selling bonus?

In CA, the stores get 1/2 of one percent of the jackpot. In this case would have been about $1,000,000 for the store bonus. Just a tad sweeter than $10,000.

Comment #3

beaudad — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:00:01 GMT

you don't win.....if you don't play !!! beaudad

Comment #2

AmbientLight — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:53:53 GMT

Im truly happy for them. One day I hope I catch a break like that in life.

Comment #1

Piaceri — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:50:04 GMT

Yay! Congrats to the IT geeks. Best of luck to them.

Seven Albany state workers won $319 million lottery prize

Lottery Post — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:45:32 GMT

Seven lucky New York state government workers earned some 'Capitol gains' when their office pool won a whopping $319 million jackpot in Friday night's drawing.

The big winners are information-technology pros who work in Homes and Community Renewal, said sources. The agency has been slammed with more than $30 million in budget cuts.

The brand-new millionaires hit it big with several Quick Pick tickets bought at Coulson's News Center, a century-old family-run convenience store in downtown Al... [ More ]