Elmont couple plans to keep $5 million prize in the family

When 81-year-old William Hansen, an Elmont resident, purchased an Extravaganza instant ticket on Feb. 2, it was just another trip to the King Kullen supermarket on West Merrick Rd. in Valley Stream. Hansen said he goes to the store nearly every day to get out of the house, buy groceries and often play the lottery.

“I play the lottery and think I’m going to win something,” Hansen said. “You don’t expect to win $5 million.” The morning he won, Hansen said he purchased groceries and walked out to his car to load several bags into his trunk, and then realized he had an extra $20 bill in his pocket. He walked back into the store, purchased the $20 scratch off game, and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“At first, I thought it was only for $5,000, and I looked again … I went back to the service window to have them check it,” Hansen said. “It didn’t start to sink in until after they announced it on the loud speaker. That’s when my knees went weak, and I started shaking.” After consulting with family and others about what to do with the money, Hansen and his wife, Mary, 79, claimed the ticket together at the Lottery’s Customer Service Center in Garden City on Feb. 7.

The couple have been married for 58 years, and have six children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. William is long retired from his job as a crane operator for Associated Rigging in New York City, and Mary was a stay-at-home mom for several years. The Hansens said they plan to keep the prize money in the family.

“I adore my family and always want to take care of them,” William said. “We’ll probably give some to charity too, but I don’t expect there will be too much left over — we’ve got a big family,” William said. Mary added that she and William might also use the money to take a trip in the future, but it’s up to William, “the boss,” she said, laughing.

The couple opted to split the $5 million prize, with each receiving 20 annual payments of $125,000 (net $77,692) until 2031.

On Feb. 25, at 11 a.m., the New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega presented the couple with an over-sized prize check for $5 million, at the King Kullen store where William purchased the winning ticket. Two other recent Lottery millionaires from Fort Greene, Brooklyn and Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood also received ceremonial prize checks, worth a total of $2 million.