Roslyn man among newest $1M lottery winners

Ralph Russo brought his wife home black pearls. When he showed her, he said, "She literally fell on the floor."

It wasn't because they were black pearls. It was because it was Black Pearls, a scratch-off game from the New York Lottery -- a ticket lottery officials said Thursday earned Russo, 46, of Roslyn, a cool $1 million.

Russo bought his ticket at the Lenton Corp. convenience store on Powerhouse Road in Roslyn Heights on his way home from work on April 2.

"I scratched off a couple of the tickets in the store and no luck," Russo said. "This one caught my eye on the way out, and I decided to give it another try." He said when he saw the automatic win symbol he showed it to the store clerk, who told him: "You just won a million!" The self-employed electrician was stunned.

It turned out he was the last player to win $1 million before the game was retired, officials said, and now will collect an annuity check of $33,090 after taxes -- through 2031.

Russo was among five winners from Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island announced by lottery officials in a ceremony Thursday. Officials said Russo wasted no time claiming his winnings after buying the lucky scratch-off ticket.

He drove to the lottery office in Garden City the next day to stake his claim.

Russo said that his plans include a vacation to Aruba.