Jeri Buonincontra, a 26-year-old aircraft mechanic from Stratford, was sound asleep early Wednesday morning when his father woke him with some news most of us only dream about. He’d won the $2.3 million CT Lottery's Classic Lotto.
Buonincontra, the only jackpot winner for the May 12 drawing, won because of a mistake.
The winning numbers were: 8–14–23–25–27–35. He meant to pick 7 instead of 8.
"When I marked the Lotto play slip with an 8 it was a mistake that I didn't notice until later. It was supposed to be a 7," Buonincontra said.
Once he confirmed the winning numbers on the lottery's website and then again in the morning newspaper, he called Danielle his fiancee his long-time sweetheart.
That should make for a happy beginning for the soon-to-be newlyweds.
Buonincontra consulted with a financial advisor and took the one-time cash lump sum value of $985,873, the prize value after taxes were deducted.
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His first big purchase will be the wedding of Danielle’s dreams.
"She deserves it," he said.
Citgo Mart, on New Haven Avenue in Derby will get a bonus of $10,000 for selling the ticket.
The winner of the March 20 Classic Lotto jackpot has still not come forward. The winning numbers on that date were 15–17–19–26–37–38. The winning jackpot ticket was sold in Hartford County.
