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WINNER OF $206M MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT IS A L.I. VISITOR
February 6, 2012

Daniel Bruckner is the new reason why Long Island residents hate their Dodgers-stealing, Lakers-loving, tree-hugging, granola-chomping California cousins: he won their $206 M at their lottery. US lottery

Daniel Bruckner, a Silicon Valley financial analyst, visited Long Island, in Friday to collect a $208 million windfall after buying one Mega Millions ticket last month at a supermarket.

Bruckner, born and raised on the West Coast, was as stunned as the hard-luck New Yorkers who watched him fill his carpetbags with cash. Lottery numbers

“The first 10 times you read it, you don’t believe it,” said the 35-year-old San Jose, Calif., resident. “We’re just so happy and lucky.”

Bruckner’s connection to New York is, actually, his wife Christine, a Long Island native, and she joined him at the suburban store where he purchased the winning ticket in the Dec. 27 drawing.

The day Bruckner decided to buy the ticket, he was visiting the in-laws over the holidays when he felt lucky enough to spend $1 the day after Christmas.

And since, he typically stops by the store, King Kullen, in Middle Island, to shop when in town, that’s where he decided to buy a meal and his millions.

“I picked up food for dinner and saw how big the jackpot was, so I decided to buy a ticket,” the fortunate financier said.

As amazing as it may seems, Bruckner didn’t play a single lucky number, instead he opted for a quick pick ticket to cash in on his 1-in-175 million odds of winning.

The newly minted millionaire was so sure he was not the winner that he didn’t even bother checking his numbers until the morning after the drawing.

And what a surprise did he get when he did.

He checked the five numbers and the Mega Ball, many times, and – to his surprise- they matched every time. So, confirmation was necessary: he made a phone call to the toll-free New York Lottery number and what his disbelieving eyes had seen became a reality: He was the winner of the largest Long Island prize ever.

Bruckner — there’s already a Bronx expressway bearing his name — was suddenly in Trumpville.

The winning couple, whose San Jose home is worth more than $500,000, plans to take a lump sum payoff of $101 million after paying all the corresponding taxes.

“I’m sure he’ll have a lot of new friends he didn’t even know he had before,” neighbor Steve Rodriguez said.

Bruckner’s high-school sweetheart and ex-wife, Dawn Reily, 35, said he deserved the jackpot — and said wish she’d hit her own as now she is being going thru a rough patch for a while.

The remarried Reily lost her teaching job and is working three gigs to make ends meet, she said.

“I’m jealous. I’m so jealous. We could really use that right now,” said the Ventura, Calif., resident. “Send some of that luck my way!”

And so do we all, after all, just a fraction of his luck could be worth millions to anyone.

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