Bob, Old Saybrook Train Conductor Is A Millionaire

From CT Lottery: *** Old Saybrook Train Conductor Picks Up $1,000,000 Powerball® Prize Winning Ticket Robert Lafreniere Matches Five Numbers for CT Lottery $1 Million Prize Win (Note: a jpg photo is available for publication use) Rocky Hill, CT/April 26, 2013 – Robert “Bob” Lafreniere of Old Saybrook has been a Metro-North Railroad conductor for 17 years, nearly all of his adult life. Recently, while cashing a $4 prize winning lottery ticket, Lafreniere almost bought two “Lucky for Life” tickets. For some reason, said Lafreniere, he changed his mind and on a whim purchased one Lucky for Life ticket and one $2 “Powerball” ticket for the Wednesday, April 24 drawing. The next day, while taking a break in between trains, Lafreniere checked his Powerball ticket in a lottery Ticket Checker. At first, Lafreniere thought he won $100,000. Feeling unsure, Lafreniere scanned his ticket one more time to confirm his ticket’s prize value and ultimately determined it was $1,000,000 prize winner. “I’m sure I turned white from the shock,” Lafreniere told lottery officials with a laugh. “I signed the back of the ticket right away. Then I called my wife.” The winning Powerball numbers drawn on Wednesday, April 24 were 9-19-31-56-59. Lafreniere’s “Quick Pick” ticket matched the first five numbers drawn, but missed the Powerball number, 2. In total, 10,220 winning Powerball tickets were sold in CT with prizes ranging from $4 to $1,000,000. Accepting a prize check for $683,000 (value after taxes) at the CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill, Lafreniere commented to Lottery officials today how winning $1,000,000 was a life changing event. “This has truly answered our prayers,” said Lafreniere. “I’ll finally be able to work less hours, spend more time with my family and put money away for our kid’s college education.” Lafreniere’s $1,000,000 prize winning Powerball ticket was purchased at Track News & Variety, located at 30 Station Place in Stamford. A retailer since 2005, Track News & Variety will receive a $2,000 bonus check from the CT Lottery for selling the winning ticket. Overall odds of winning a Powerball prize are 1 in 31.8. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot prize are 1 in 175,223,510. The CT Lottery reminds the public that purchasers must be 18 or older, and to please play responsibly. For more information about CT’s lottery games, visit ctlottery.org or call (860) 713-2700.