BOSTON (WHDH) - A woman from Hyde Park has hit it big once again when it comes to scratch tickets, winning $25 million off an instant game, according to officials.
The Massachusetts State Lottery announced that Desiree Fortini-Craft won the $25 million grand prize via a “Billion Dollar Extravaganza” scratch ticket.
The win comes some 17 years after Fortini-Craft won another instant ticket prize in 2006, collecting $1 million in that case, state lottery officials said.
With her latest winnings, Fortini-Craft told officials she hopes to use the winnings to enjoy life with her fiancé Jason Perkins, who joined her in claiming her prize at the Mass Lottery headquarters in Dorchester. She opted to receive her prize in the form of a one-time payment of $16,250,000 (before taxes).
Describing how she and Perkins are hard workers, Fortini-Craft said they planned on having a “really good Christmas in Aruba” and that she hoped to use some of her prize to pay off the student loans of her three daughters.
Also in her plans – “some big family purchases” and a new car.
Fortini-Craft said she originally bought the winning ticket at Baker Street Market at 419 Baker St. in West Roxbury. She said she had actually scratched her winning ticket “a few weeks ago” and stored it in a safe spot before going on a trip to Aruba at the time, claiming her prize when she got back.
The lottery’s website stated that with Fortini-Craft’s win, all three $25 million prizes for the Billion Dollar Extravaganza game have been claimed. The odds for winning such a prize were 1 in 10,080,000.
Baker Street Market in West Roxbury will receive a $50,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
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