2 more LIers become lottery millionaires

At a New York Lottery ceremony Thursday in Brentwood, two Long Islanders picked up "keepsake" checks -- one for $26.5 million, the other for $5 million.

A player of a variety of games, Fidencio Argueta, 60, of Brentwood, said in a lottery news release that he just happened to choose Lotto on April 10, plunking down $5 at the Salumed Pharmacy, 753 Commack Rd., Brentwood.

Surprised to be holding the winning numbers, Argueta, who worked in shipping, said he'll use some of his lump-sum winnings -- $12,335,306 after withholding -- to buy a new home and car and to help his family.

Also picking up a check at the presentation at the Salumed Pharmacy was Leonarda Diaz, 47, of Franklin Square, who was the first top prize winner of Maximum Millions, a new scratch-off game launched April 2.

Following her regular habit, she said she stopped to buy a ticket on her way to work April 19.

"I scratched the ticket in my car and when I realized I won, I had to pull over because I was shaking so bad," she said in the release. "Then I called my sister."

Diaz, who purchased the ticket at the New Hyde Park Service Station, 1500 Jericho Tpke., New Hyde Park, will receive a lump-sum check for $3,309,000 after withholding.

She, too, will be looking to put some of her winnings into real estate.

"I was planning on buying a house for my family," said Diaz, who works in sales. "Now I can buy two houses close to each other for my parents, my children and my grandchildren."