When a store clerk at the Depew One Stop convenience store on Broadway handed over the wrong lottery ticket by mistake it set in motion a series of events that resulted in a $10 million New York Lottery win.
Saturday January 18, began like any other day for printer, Jerry Kajfasz, 53. It was his day off from work so he popped into the Depnew One Stop to pick a supply of cigars and some of his favorite lottery scratch-off tickets.
When the clerk handed him a $20 Win for Life Spectacular ticket Kajfasz noticed the mistake and asked him to swap it for another ticket. The clerk obliged and Kajfasz returned to his truck and began scratching the tickets.
"I kept winning on the scratch-off tickets," Kajfasz said, speaking on Tuesday at a press conference at the Depew One Stop. "I won like seven in a row. I just got lucky, until I hit the big one."
Feeling 'lucky', Kajfasz returned to the store and decided to buy the $20 Win for Life ticket after all.
"Give me that ticket you almost gave me by accident," he said and the clerk handed it over. Kajfasz scratched it off there and then and was astounded to discover he'd won a guaranteed minimum prize of $10 million, or $10,000 a week for life, courtesy of the New York Lottery.
When he had validated the ticket Kajfasz rang his wife and told her the news. Then he called his two children. His son Frank detected a strange tone in Kajfasz' voice and when his father wouldn’t tell him what was wrong he jokingly asked him if he'd won the lottery.
"Well, I didn’t want to tell you this way," Kajfasz' replied. "Come over as soon as possible. I have some champagne."
