45°
"Once in a blue moon I'll play," Silva said.
But he did, recently, after his employees mentioned playing. He headed across the street from the pizza shop, tried out a "5X The Money 8th Edition" ticket and was startled to find a $50,000 top prize.
Silva first told his mom the news, she also reacted with surprise: "Wow, really!?"
Asked what he plans to do with his winnings, Silva responded with a smile, "Save up. Back to work. Probably go celebrate in New York City with friends."
Silva also plans to keep the penny he used to scratch the ticket. "It's a lucky penny -- heads up!" he chuckled.
For selling the winning ticket, Greenwich Cigar Store, at 91 Railroad Ave., will receive a $500 check from the Connecticut Lottery.
The lottery website also lists the unclaimed prizes for particular games. For the current "5X The Money" game, there are many thousands of unclaimed prizes -- ranging from the 11 people yet to claim $1,500 prizes to the 135,546 people with unclaimed $5 prizes.
In another, the "30X Cash" game, there are 13 unclaimed $30,000 prizes. So take a look a your tickets. While you can't win if you don't play, winning doesn't mean much if you don't claim the money.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Greenwich and receive free news updates.
