James “Jimmy” Groves is no stranger to New York’s Mega Millions game. The 49-year-old grandfather of one has been buying his Quick Pick tickets for the twice weekly multi-state game since the first Mega drawing in May 2002. His loyalty paid off in 2009 as the former Madison Square Garden employeeaccepted his 50 percent share of a $336,000,000 Mega Millions jackpot from the drawing held on August 28, 2009.
“It’s a gift from God, no doubt,” said Groves who recently retired from the Garden after 18 years on the job. “I can think of 168,000,000 reasons why this was a good time to retire.”
Groves credits his $168,000,000 win on a last minute change to his ticket purchasing strategy. “I play Mega every week and 99 percent of the time I go with the lump sum (payout option) like everybody else,” he explained. “This time I went with the annuity thinking a little change like that might bring a change of luck.” The Lottery estimates only four percent of New York’s Mega Millions players elect to receive their jackpot prize as an annuity payout for any given Mega Millions drawing. The vast majority of players, 96 percent, choose the cash value or “lump sum” payout option.
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