‘Life-changing’ scratch-off lottery ticket bought on LI brings $5M win for Virginia woman

One Virginia woman will forever remember a visit to her parents in Queens after she claimed a winning scratch-off ticket bought in a Nassau County store guaranteeing her $5 million.

“It was life-changing,” said Claudia Torres, 51, of Sterling, Virginia.

Torres claimed the top prize in the New York Lottery’s Set For Life scratch-off game, the New York Lottery website said Tuesday. 

The mother of four told Newsday she was visiting her parents in Far Rockaway on Feb. 17 when she decided to patronize the nearby Tirth Supermarket at 83 Doughty Blvd. in Inwood.

“I buy scratch-offs all the time when I go to the grocery store,” Torres said. “I always buy and try my luck.”

Torres said when she scratched off the ticket later that day, it said she had won but did not indicate the exact prize amount.

She returned to Virginia on Feb. 21, unaware of how her life would change.

“We were searching first on the internet, checking, asking ChatGPT,” Torres said of trying to learn the value of the ticket.

They eventually contacted the New York Lottery office on March 26.

After confirming the ticket number, a lottery representative said four words Torres will never forget.

“This is the jackpot,” Torres recalls the representative telling her.

Torres said she and two of her children, 16 and 20, hugged and cried.

Already in New York visiting family, Torres went to the New York Lottery office that March day to verify the ticket in person.

She opted to take the cash value of the annuity prize and received a one-time lump sum payment of $2,321,030, after required withholdings, the website said.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Torres said of choosing to take a lump sum. “Right now, I can just help my family.”

She received the money Tuesday, 14 weeks after she claimed the ticket, according to the lottery.

Torres wants to buy a large house for her children and herself with enough room for her parents — if she can convince them to move to Virginia, she said.

But her children had one question upon hearing the good news.

“Does this mean we can get a dog now?” Torres said they asked, after years of telling them no because they rented.

Originally from Honduras, Torres lived in Far Rockaway with her family for eight years and moved to Massapequa in 2010 when she got married.

She moved to Virginia in 2018 for a “new beginning” with two of her children when she separated from her husband.

Torres said the transition was hard at first because she had no job lined up and she missed the support of her family.

“I’m a family person,” Torres said. “All my life I’ve been next to my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters.”

Her life has improved and she is now a manager at a Sam’s Club, Torres said. She visits her family in New York every two months.

Torres said she hoped her story inspired others to keep moving forward.

“Try your luck, you never know when it is your day … when you’re going to hit the jackpot,” she said. “Every single challenge of my life, good or bad, I always keep positive, and I always think the next day will be better.”