A New Jersey family, including an out-of-work boilermaker and a federal park ranger who was furloughed during the recent government shutdown just became multi-millionaires, scoring a $29.5 million lottery jackpot – and they are already planning an Italian vacation.
William Smith, 28, a father of two young children from Bayonne, bought the golden Pick-6 ticket at an area liquor store on Dec. 17 using $5 that his 56-year-old mother Judith Smith gave him.
“I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me,” William told The Post Thursday as he recalled how he felt when he realized that he had won.
William, a boilermaker for Local 28, said that he immediately called his 25-year-old sister, Sarah, to double-check the numbers.
“We’re super excited,” Sarah said. “We’re simple people. We’re not extravagant. We just want to take care of our kids and travel more.”
After calling his sister, William rang his mom, a National Park Service employee who works at historic Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island.
“I don’t even know what to do. Should I even go to work?” William remembered his mom, who he lives with, saying.
The day after the Smith family’s purchase, lottery officials announced that the winning ticket was sold by Eddy’s Wines & Liquors in Bayonne.
Judith told lottery officials that “she had put the winning ticket in a safe place, which [she and her family] checked regularly, while taking time to consult with an attorney before coming to Lottery offices,” officials said.
William said that his family couldn’t be happier since they recently fell on hard times.
“The last year hasn’t been the best. Quite a few deaths in the family. A lot of stressful things in my life. For this to happen has been a little bit a luck. What are the chances?” William said.
The Smith family opted to take a lump-sum payment of $20,870,070.
William said that $3.5 million each will go to him and his sister, while his mother will get $7 million.
Sarah added: “We love wine and Italian food, so Italy is our first vacation and we’re going to definitely pay off our credit card debt.”
William, who remains out-of-work, said that he will continue to look for work and that his family will also continue to work despite their infusion of cash.
The $29.5 million jackpot is the largest Pick-6 jackpot in New Jersey since May 2004, according to lottery officials.
In this Pick-6 game-roll, “more than 2.23 million lottery players won nearly $35 million in prizes and better than $28.8 million was generated in contributions to the State,” officials said.
Eddy’s Wines & Liquors received a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket, according to officials.
