Congers native claims $7M Lottery prize in New City

NEW CITY – When Congers native Joseph Amorese got a get-well card from his dad while he was recovering from surgery, he had no idea how much it would lift his spirits.

Tucked inside the card was a scratch-off Lottery ticket that turned out to be a $7 million winner.

Amorese, 46, a Clarkstown North High School graduate who now lives in Easton, Pennsylvania, came to the Just A Dollar store at 20 North Main Street on Wednesday morning to claim his prize.

As the cameras flashed at the back of the discount store, New York lottery officials presented Amorese with a giant ceremonial check to commemorate winning the "$7,000,000 Golden Ticket" game. The chances of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 3,708,000.

Amorese said his father, a retired hospital administrator, frequently sends him lottery tickets, mostly a daily scratch-off game called Set for Life. He recalled with a chuckle his surprise at seeing a $25 ticket arrive in the mail on Feb. 12.

"I was like, 'That's an expensive ticket. I hope I win."

Amorese was even more surprised when he scratched off the ticket, revealing the "automatic win" coin symbol. His initial reaction when he suspected he had won was to be expected: He was in shock.

"I just had hernia surgery so I wasn't jumping up and down," he laughed. "Only in my mind."

Wearing a black blazer, blue jeans and a gray striped shirt open at the neck, Amorese said when he first realized his good fortune, he called his wife, Jodi, a social worker, with the news.

"I said, 'Honey, I think we won the lottery.' And the phone went silent on the other end. She was in disbelief," he said.

The couple, who celebrate their one-year anniversary in May, scrutinized the fine-print and checked the ticket on the internet, and the next day at a lottery customer service center.

"We brought it in and scanned it. It went, 'do-da-du,' " Amorese said. "Then we knew we had won."

"It's a great sound, isn't it?" lottery official Gretchen Dizer asked.

"It was the best sound of my life," he replied.

After taxes, his total prize is about $4.6 million. Amorese did not announce any major plans on Wednesday, except that he will probably spend more time with his family. Jodi has two grown children, ages 28 and 22.

"It gives us a lot more freedom than we had before," said Amorese, who works for Verizon.

His mother, Kathleen Michel of Nanuet, described her son as a "good person" who "deserved to win."

"Joseph struggled and put himself through school," she said, tearing up. "He made me really proud. He worked very hard."

For his part, Amorese said he was still getting used to the idea of his multimillion-dollar windfall. He will, however, take the family on a vacation.

"Maybe Bora Bora," he laughed. "We haven't decided."

This was the second time this year someone in the Lower Hudson Valley won a major jackpot.

In January, a 48-year-old Yonkers construction worker won $5 million on a scratch-off game.

Twitter: @alextailored