Lucky Long Islanders Awarded Millions In Lotto Prizes

Long Island is home to a few new millionaires.

The New York Lottery presented ceremonial prize checks Wednesday to an NYPD officer and a soon-to-be-engaged couple from Long Island after they hit it big.

Here are their winning stories:

Winning a $7.7 Million Lotto Jackpot Gives Sayville Couple the Warm and Fuzzies

The Fur Babies Forever Trust - that’s the official name of the Financial Trust established by two “soon-to-be-engaged” animal lovers who won a $7.7 million jackpot from the drawing held on May 27.

Helen “Ellie” Krepela and Christopher Finno, both of Sayville, only recently started buying lottery tickets together. Krepela, a dental worker, purchased the couple’s ticket during a stop for gas at the Gulf station located at 292 Railroad Ave. in Sayville.

The 46-year-old Krepela also takes credit for later scanning the ticket and “freaking out” upon realizing that she and her general contractor boyfriend would soon be $7.7 million richer.

“I called Chris on his way to work,” Krepela said. “I had to put the store owner on the phone with him before he would believe me,” she continued. Finno, 50, said he turned his car around and returned home where the pair spent the rest of the day second-guessing their good fortune.

“'This can’t be real. Check ‘em again. Check the website. Are you sure?' We kept asking each other the same questions over and over before finally heading to the bank to put the ticket in a safe deposit box,” Finno recalled.

The couple then spent weeks getting their financial plans in order before actually claiming their seven-figure prize.

“Honestly, it was a relief to get rid of the ticket,” Finno said. “I can rest now.”

The couple opted to take the cash value of the $7.7 million jackpot, earning the Fur Babies Forever Trust a one-time cash infusion totaling $3,470,334.

Finno and Krepela said they were planning to make their engagement official later this year and they will stick to that timetable.

“Neither of us wants anything extravagant,” Finno said. “We’ll have a nice wedding and maybe she’ll get a bigger ring.”

The couple's winning ticket was purchased at this gas station in Sayville. (Google Maps image)

NYPD Officer From Commack Unwinds with $3,000,000 Wonka Golden Ticket Prize

Thirty-one-year-old Lukasz Solis of Commack has the distinction of being the first New York Lottery player statewide to win a $3,000,000 top prize on the $10 Wonka Golden Ticket.

A regular scratch-off player, Solis said he stopped in the Sweet Tree food store at 16-04 Mott Ave. in Far Rockaway specifically to buy a lottery ticket. He says he chose the Wonka Golden Ticket because “it was a new game and I like to mix it up.”

Unlike other players who opt to scratch their tickets in the store to see if they’ve won, Solis said he takes a more therapeutic approach.

“I wait to scratch the tickets at home,” he said. “It helps me unwind.”

After scratching off all the numbers on the top and bottom of his ticket, Solis said he was glad to see a match on the number 22. Then he checked his prize.

“You scratch a ticket with the hope of winning $50 or maybe winning your money back,” he said. “This has not really sunk in yet.”

Solis opted to receive his $3 million prize in 20 annual payments of $150,000 (net $99,270). His plans for the money include helping his wife return to school and making some home improvements.