When Connecticut Lotto player William Carter II popped into the Fas Mart and Shore Stop on Talcottville Road in Vernon, on Wednesday morning, all he planned to do was fill his pickup truck with gas and pick up a few cold drinks for his cooler. While he was there he ran his Lotto ticket through the self-checker and got such a surprise his original plans were soon forgotten.
"I almost hit the floor when the ticket checker said JACKPOT WINNER," Carter said. "I was so excited, that I left the store without getting gas!"
Carter's ticket, bearing the numbers 7, 26, 28, 29, 32, and 44 matched the winning numbers from the Tuesday, July 22, 2014, Connecticut Lotto drawing. The jackpot for the draw was $3.6 million and Carter had the only ticket bearing those numbers so he scooped the entire prize.
Although $3.6 million is small in comparison to the mammoth jackpots available from bigger draws such as US Mega Millions and US Powerball, it is a very respectable prize for a Connecticut Lotto drawing, and had been pumped up by 43 rollovers. Carter is only the second person to win the jackpot this year.
Carter opted to take his prize as a one-off, lump-sum payment of $2,979,567 and told lottery officials he was going to invest in a house and a new truck and said he would be sure not to forget his family.
"Most importantly, I’m going to take care of my three kids and three grandchildren," he said.
