East Haven Man Wins $250,000 Lottery Prize

What goes well with a steak and cheese grinder besides maybe some lettuce and tomato? If you happen to be Bill Coppola of East Haven, it’s not a side of fries, but a $250,000 prize winning lottery ticket.

“Saturday after work, I went to the corner store to get something to eat. While I was waiting, I bought a ‘$250,000 Spectacular’ ticket and scratched it in the store. I thought I won $25,000,” Coppola said. “When I got in my car, I put on my cheater glasses. That’s when I realized it was $250,000.”

Yesterday, Bill and his fiancée, Tricia, accepted an oversized souvenir check from Lottery officials for their $250,000 top prize win, still clearly excited by his amazing and unexpected windfall.

“I work on the docks 70 to 80 hours every week just to try and get ahead. I work hard,” said Coppola. “We’ve always talked about buying a rental property down south, someplace small where we and the kids can to go to and relax. Now we can.”

Coppola’s $250,000 prize winning ticket was purchased at Stop & Go located at 526 Main Street in East Haven. For selling the ticket, Stop & Go will receive a $2,500 check from the CT Lottery.

The overall chances of winning a prize in the $5 instant game $250,000 Spectacular is 1 in 4.11. Of the ten $250,000 top prizes in the game, 3 remain to be claimed.

The CT Lottery reminds the public that purchasers must be 18 or older, and to please play responsibly. For information about the CT Lottery stop by any CT Lottery retailer, visit ctlottery.org, join us on Facebook (facebook.com/CTLottery) and Twitter (twitter.com/ctlottery), or call (860) 713-2700.