A Long Island landscaper recently was a part of a group of several people who all won $1 million in the New York Lottery.
Marvin Rosales Martinez says that he found a winning ticket while working at his landscaping job a year ago, Newsday reports. He spotted the ticket and took it into a 7-Eleven where he was told they couldn't verify it, so he went to the Lottery's Long Island Customer Service Center where he was informed that it was indeed a winning ticket.
According to CBS News, The 27-year-old discovered the ticket shortly after Superstorm Sandy hit, but he had to wait a year while officials looked into whether the ticket was actually genuine or if anyone would come forward somehow and claim it.
New York State Lottery's Yolanda Vega said of the situation, "He took it to a 7-Eleven store. They couldn't scan it because it was still kind of wet. But they realized the ticket was valuable" and that's when he learned it would be best if he went to the customer service center to get the ticket looked at.
Martinez decided to take the winnings in a lump sum and said he would not be quitting his job. Newsday notes the sum after taxes would come to roughly $515,000.