Brewster Landscaper Wins Big in New York Lottery

Twenty-three-year-old Darwin Aguirre Portillo from Brewster is the 18th Putnam County winner ever to win a Lottery prize valued at $1,000,000 or more.

Aguirre Portillo hit the jackpot when he scratched the $2.5M winning combination a $2,500 a Week for Life scratch-off ticket during a random stop for gas. The lucky winner was thrilled.

“This ticket is my favorite one to play,” Aguirre Portillo told Lottery officials. “I’ve seen my friends win on it so that’s the one I play. I always hoped one day I would hit the big one and now I have.”

Aguirre Portillo’s road to riches started with a random stop for gas at the Gulf station on Main Street in Brewster.

“I was on my way home from work and stopped for gas and some water,” said the landscaper. “I ended up buying a ticket and scratched it in the parking lot. I matched on the number 22 and saw the word LIFE below it. I thought ‘Oh wow, I won’ and then immediately called my brother Daniel to tell him the good news.”

The $2,500 A Week for Life ticket has a guaranteed minimum payout of $2,500,000. Aguirre Portillo opted to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment. He will receive a net check totaling $1,390,601 after required withholdings.

“Now that have hit the big one I will consider all of my options,” explained the newly minted millionaire. “I might go back to school and start my own business sometime in the future. I’m also considering buying a new car and possibly a house.”

PHOTO: Aquirre Portillo and Yolanda Vega of the New York Lottery in Brewster