Maria Matthews Sanders of Commack won big from a scratch-off lottery card, announced the New York Lottery on Friday.
Sanders purchased the card on January 20 from a Stop & Shop in East Northport, where she was waiting for her order from the deli counter and decided to purchase the lottery card from an automatic machine while she waited.
Sanders was unable to get to the lottery customer service center in Garden City for two days, so she hid the winning ticket under her mattress for what she said were two restless nights.
The $1 million won by Sanders was the second place prize in the $5 million Multiplier scratch-off game. She also shares the second place position with three other Long Islanders – three family members from Wantagh who won the $1 million prize on the same Multiplier game and turned it in on January 10.
The New York Lottery said that Sanders chose to receive her winnings in a lump sum of $661,800 after the necessary withholdings.
The Commack woman was among nine winners on Friday who all shared $13 million in the New York Lottery.
