TRENTON (July 27, 2018) – George Ippolito, a long-time Lottery player living in Short Hills has been playing the same numbers for Jersey Cash 5 for years: 04, 18, 23, 36 and 38. He hand-picked these numbers for Jersey Cash 5 years ago, and hasn't changed them since.

George usually watches the drawings live to check the numbers as they are selected, but missed the broadcast when he received a phone call on the night of the April 12 drawing. After hanging up the phone, George quickly visited the NJ Lottery website to see the results. He immediately realized that the numbers drawn matched the numbers he had played. Although he knew right away that he had won, it still took a long time to completely sink in when he saw the jackpot – a staggering $785,212.

With his impressive Jersey Cash 5 jackpot, George plans to put the money toward his savings and retirement, mentioning it will greatly help him and his family in the coming years. His lucky ticket was purchased at Welsh Farms Speedy Mart on 160 Mountain Ave., Springfield in Union County.

David Szanto from Pompton Plains had his eyes on the big Powerball jackpot when he purchased a ticket for the Wednesday, June 20 drawing.

When he stopped in his local retailer on Thursday to check his ticket, he passed it under the scanner and the message popped up, "See clerk." David thought something was wrong with the scanner, so he handed the ticket to the clerk, mildly annoyed that the scanner seemed to not work.

The clerk scanned the ticket and gave a confusing response, saying “I can’t cash this here.” David wondered why the clerk could not cash the ticket and asked for an explanation. To David’s surprise and delight, the clerk told him, “You should be very happy, this is going to be a good day for you. You just won $50,000!”

David’s luck held out, when he realized he also matched the Powerball on another set of numbers on his ticket, winning $4 for that match, increasing his total winnings to $50,004. When asked if he had any special plans for the prize money, David mentioned that this will help him and his family stay ahead of the current bills, with the rest going to the savings account. David’s lucky ticket was purchased at Quick Chek #57 on 29 Jackson Ave., Pompton Plains in Morris County.