Patrick Clarke just won $5 million from the $10 Set for Life lottery scratchoff.
Clarke bought the winning ticket on December 20 at the Friendly Deli & Grocery on Saratoga Ave. in Brooklyn.
“It feels good,” said Clarke. “It means I won’t have to worry so much. There will always be something to worry about, but for once, it won’t be about money.”
He said that he scratched off the winning ticket at his girlfriend’s home and then immediately began to celebrate.
“I started laughing and dancing all around the house!” he said.
He had to call his mother first before anyone else, because it had been her birthday present of $50 that he had used to purchase two tickets from the store that day. She at first misunderstood, thinking that when he said he “got life” that he meant he was going to prison, which sent her into worry and then confusion when Clarke tried to explain that he had won the lottery.
“At first she didn’t believe me,” Clarke said. “She said ‘stop playing with me.’”
Clarke is not sure what he will do with his winnings, but he said that he will likely keep his job at the airport.
“I’ll take it one day at a time,” he said.
