Plattsburgh women get lucky in cash-prize games

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August 27, 2010

Casino, Lottery pay off for 2 local players

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURGand DENISE A. RAYMO Staff Writers The Press Republican Fri Aug 27, 2010, 03:28 AM EDT

PLATTSBURGH — Hoping for a day of relaxation, Cathy Adams decided to spend Sunday at Akwesasne Mohawk Casino with her husband and sister.

After walking in, she found a seat at a penny slot machine and settled in for a few hours of fun.

Within a half hour, the Plattsburgh woman struck it big.

"At first, I didn't know what was going on," the Plattsburgh State food-service employee recalled Thursday.

When casino employees confirmed her big $90,000 Super Jackpot win, Adams was in shock.

"I just started crying. I couldn't believe it."

Benjamin Herne of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino said her win was the second highest the casino has ever awarded in its jackpot game.

The past local jackpot winners included a Saranac Lake man who won $96,800 and a woman who works at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh who took home $86,000, he said.

"We're very excited to have someone from the region be another one of our winners," Herne said.

The Super Jackpot is open to anyone holding a Players' Club card. The holder inserts their card into one of the 1,600 slot machines available, and at any time, the person could be selected to win one of the three pots of money awarded.

Herne said the Turbo Jackpot ranges from $1 to $1,000, the Nitro Jackpot from $1 to $2,500 and the Super Jackpot from $2,000 to $100,000.

"You never know, and we never know, when a jackpot is going to go," he said.

For Adams, the surprise of the win has yet to wear off.

"I'm just ecstatic," she said Thursday. "I didn't go up there to win. Just to play and have fun, and I still can't believe it.

"This is my biggest win ever, and I'm just on cloud nine."

POWERBALL WINNER

In another big win, Plattsburgh Public Library aide Christine Suruda this week took home a $200,000 Powerball prize after getting lucky playing her family birthdays.

"I was just reading the Sunday paper when I saw the numbers for Saturday," Suruda told New York Lottery officials Thursday when she picked up her prize.

"I recognized my numbers — our birthdays — and went to get the ticket and could not believe it."

After claiming her prize, Suruda, who always plays the same numbers, told the Press-Republican she bought her ticket at Express Lane in Plattsburgh.

Powerball is a multi-state draw game with drawings on Wednesday and Saturday. The odds of winning a second-place Powerball prize like Suruda's are 1 in 5,138,133.

On Thursday, Suruda was still awed by her luck and hadn't decided what she might do with the winnings.

"It's exciting. And it's still a shock."

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg:

avanvalkenburg@ pressrepublican.com