Lucky numbers pay off for Greensburg man
Richard Comerford didn't rely on the luck of the computer draw when he picked out his Cash 5 numbers back in May.
The Greensburg man asked the cashier at the Hempfield Shop 'n Save to play the numbers 6, 15, 28, 35 and 39 for him, just like he has since he started playing that Pennsylvania Lottery game about a year ago.
The numbers represent his birth date (6-15-28) and the two badge numbers he wore as a police officer in Freeport on Long Island, New York.
And now they represent $130,088 - less 28 percent federal withholding tax, of course.
On Monday morning, Comerford, 73, will receive his check at a presentation at the Shop 'n Save store along Route 136 in Hempfield Township where he bought the winning ticket.
He's splitting the prize with John Colarossi, 80, of Scranton, who also picked all five numbers in the May 30 drawing, lottery officials said.
Comerford turned on the television that day and watched in surprise as his numbers were drawn.
'I think I turned it on when the third number was (drawn), and I thought, 'I'll get a few dollars anyway,'' Comerford recalled Friday. 'And then the fourth and fifth numbers came up. I just walked upstairs to my daughter-in-law and said, 'I think I won the lottery.''
A check on the Internet later that night by Comerford's son indicated that two people would split the total prize of $260,176.
Comerford has never won this much money before.
'Although a couple of years ago I hit the Big 4 for $5,000,' he said. 'But when you play pretty continually, you get it once in a while, something anyway. Enough to keep you involved. But now I don't think I'll be involved anymore. Only the Super 6. I'll play that until I hit that.'
In Cash 5, players select five numbers from 1 to 39. Players must match all five winning numbers drawn to receive the top jackpot prize, which starts at $100,000 and continues to increase until it is won.
The day after his winning Cash 5 numbers were drawn, Comerford went back to the Hempfield Shop 'n Save to figure out how to claim his prize.
'He came in and spoke to me about how to get in touch with the lottery,' Bonnie Diehl, front-end manager for the store said yesterday. 'He told me that he had all five numbers. He's a very nice man. He plays every week.'
Comerford, who moved to Greensburg in 1994 to be nearer to a son and daughter-in-law with whom he now lives, said he already has some ideas for his newfound cash.
'I have plans. Get out of debt, pay off anything I owe,' he said. 'I have six children. Needless to say, I'll give each of them (some).'
