Retired NYC handyman lands record $476M Mega Millions jackpot
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He just fixed all of his problems.
A retired Queens handyman can finally put his toolbox away after landing a record $476 million Mega Millions jackpot.
Johnnie Taylor, 71, of Howard Beach cashed in his lucky ticket from the April 14 drawing this week, opting for a lump sum payment of $157 million after taxes, New York Lottery officials announced Monday.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Taylor said. He said his wife thought he was joking when he delivered the good news — forcing him to go online and prove he had the winning numbers.
Taylor — who once worked in Manhattan buildings — said he bought the ticket at Liberty Beer and Convenience in Ozone Park, his usual stop for quick-pick Mega Millions and Powerball games.
The store gets a $10,000 bonus just for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.
Back in April, staff and customers at Liberty Beer were hoping some of the new tycoon’s luck would rub off on them.
“We’re feeling very happy. We’re excited, and hopefully, we sell more winning tickets,” Deepak Parek, a 42-year-old clerk at Liberty Beer & Convenience, told The Post.
Rudy Pena of Ozone Park said he plays lottery games at Liberty Beer daily and is hopeful the store remains hot.
“I think it [improves my] chances, absolutely!” he boasted.
Taylor said he plans to use the winnings to buy a new home, do some traveling, donate to his local church and replace his aging 2012 Prius with a new hybrid model.
Neighbors were gobsmacked that Taylor had obtained such a large prize.
“It’s a little nerve-racking though being on the floor where somebody won all this money and people know where he lives” neighbor Maria Ferrome, 37, told The Post on Monday night. “I still can’t believe it, that he won all this money.”
Another neighbor said Taylor and his wife were “nice humble people.”
“When I had my broken foot she offered her help to me. She told me if I needed anything don’t hesitate to come to her. And only nice people do that” Antonia Lilly said.
The winning numbers were 23-27-41-48-51 with a Mega Ball number of 22.
Taylor’s prize is the biggest Mega Millions hit in the Empire State since the game launched in 2002 — surpassing a $437 million jackpot ticket sold in Huntington in 2019.
The jackpot had increased 21 times before Taylor hit it.
“The New York Lottery congratulates Mr. Taylor on winning this historic jackpot, the sales for which brought millions of dollars to New York’s public schools and lottery retailers across the state,” state Gaming Commissioner Chairman Brian O’Dwyer said.
While most of the money raised by the lottery is rolled back into jackpots for its various games of chance, the money from lottery ticket sales adds millions of dollars to the state education budget.
In all, the $476 million drawing ended up raising more than $21 million for state education, $4.1 million in commissions for lottery retailers and paid out more than $10 million in non-jackpot prizes to players.
In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the lottery contributed $3.6 billion in school aid, agency data shows.
