Mineola Resident Wins $250,000 in Mega Millions

"This is a big enough jackpot for me," Mineola resident Rodger O'Gara, 45, said when he claimed his Thursday at the Lotto Claims office in Garden City. A retired sergeant from the New York Police Department, O'Gara purchased one of the 11 second-prize winning tickets sold in New York for the near-record Jan. 4 Mega Millions drawing.

"I only play when the jackpot gets big," O'Gara said. Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot was the second highest in history, paying out $380 million to two ticket holders from Idaho and Washington. O'Gara matched five of the six numbers drawn, missing the jackpot by just the Mega Ball.

"I was just getting a slice of pizza and ran into a friend. I saw he had Lottery tickets in his hand so I headed next door to buy a few for myself," O'Gara said. He purchased his Quick Pick ticket at on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola.

"I checked my numbers on the results board at a gas station and couldn't believe it,"  O'Gara said returning later to have the retailer scan his ticket. "The clerk told me I should get that ticket home safe because I had a big winner."

The married father of two plans to use the windfall to pay bills and, "pay for college for the kids."