New Yorker wins $10m lottery for the second time in three years

‘I’m still trying to spend the $10m I won in ‘19,’ winner says

(New York Lottery )

A man has defied the odds by winning a $10m lottery prize for a second time in less than three years.

Juan Hernandez, from Nassau County, New York, took home the highest prize on New York Lottery’s $10,000,00 Deluxe scratch-off game this month, after winning a similar lottery prize in 2019.

Hernandez purchased the winning ticket at a Stop & Shop in Hempstead and has chosen to receive a payment of $6,510,000 after government tax withholdings.

As noted by the New York Lottery, Hernandez previously won the biggest prize on the $350,000,000 Cash Spectacular scratch-off ticket back in 2019, which he joked he is “still trying to spend”.

“I’m still trying to spend the $10m I won in ‘19,” he said in a press release on 22 February.

On his Facebook page, Hernandez noted that he’ll be donating the money from his second win to people in need. In a post shared to his page on 28 February, a man named Wesley Hunter thanked Hernandez for his donation and explained how it will help him after the pandemic.

“Since your monetary donation I have been able to get a new truck and get back to work after months of struggling,” the post read. “People like you are an inspiration to all. Thank you for this generous act of giving.”

Per the New York Lottery, there are still three $10m prizes left to be awarded from the deluxe scratch-off game.

Hernandez’s two-time win is highly uncommon. In fact, according to the New York Lottery, the odds of winning first prize in a scratch-off game is one in 4.6m, while USA Today reports the odds of winning the $10m prize in a Deluxe scratch-off game is one in 3.52m.

While winning the lottery twice may seem like an unlikely concept, this isn’t the first time it has happened.

Last October, a retired utility worker won $2m in a Maryland lottery scratch-off for the second time in several years. As for what he planned to do with his winnings, he told the Maryland Lottery that he was putting his money towards a family vacation and finances for his retirement.

The Independent has contacted Hernandez for comment.