A retired postal service worker finally has claimed winnings in a $1,000 a week for life lottery prize after learning one year later, and days before her ticket expired, that she’d won.
Genine Plummer of Islip, New York, purchased the winning CASH4LIFE ticket on May 26, 2022, from a ShopRite market in the Bay Shore area.
On May 11, 2023, the state’s lottery distributed a press release alerting players that their tickets were about to expire at the end of the month, one year to the date of ticket purchase.
Plummer decided to check lottery tickets she had on hand, and to her surprise she learned she was a CASH4LIFE second prize winner for matching the first five numbers drawn in the May 2022 drawing. A CASH4LIFE second prize “guarantees a minimum payout of $1,000,000 payable as a for-life annuity or a one-time lump sum at the election of the winner,” according to New York Lottery officials.
“I’m just in shock with everything and amazed,” Plummer said, according to the New York Lottery website. “I am overwhelmed.”
According to Jackpocket, a lottery blog, the overall odds of winning the CASH4LIFE pot in New York is 1 in 8.
Plummer has opted to receive her money in an annual installment of $33,852 after required withholdings. And she has a bit of advice for other people playing the lottery.
“Keep playing as I did,” she said. “And check your tickets like I did, especially if you have many tickets on hand.”
Plummer also has made some headlines previously for a different reason. Newsday reported in 2016 Plummer was believed to be the first Black person to be named postmaster in Brookhaven, New York.
“We believe she is the first,” said Maureen Marior, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service’s northeast region.
Now that she is retired, her pension checks reportedly range between $1,824 and $3,837 per month.
