30 December,2013 05:57 AM IST | | ANI
Marvin Martinez, 27, saw that all three numbers on the "Win 1000 dollars a Week for Life" scratch card looked like winners.
Martinez said that he tried to verify that he had a winning ticket at a New York Lottery customer service center - but the lottery office had lost its power as a result of Sandy causing havoc.
When the office finally reopened, Martinez explained to them what happened, and three weeks back, he got a call to meet the Lottery officials as no one else had claimed the ticket - and in this case, "finders keepers" applied, News.com.au reported.
Martinez has elected to take a lump-sum payment of 779,106 dollars, which after taxes comes up to 515,612 dollars.
