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Essex man will receive $1,000-a-week top prize from second-chance drawing
Surrounded by cheering co-workers and patrons, Marcelino Vilcarino, Sr. posed for pictures and celebrated his big Lottery win. The Essex resident and long-time Sabatino’s employee was the lucky winner of the Set for Life 2 top-prize drawing of $1,000 a week for 20 years. The 66-year-old native of Peru chose the cash option, taking home approximately $542,000 after taxes. This is the second large Lottery win for Marcelino, who won $10,000 playing Mega Millions only a few years ago.
“This couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” said Sabatino’s general manager, Philip Culotta.
When Marcelino told his boss he had received a call from a Lottery representative telling him had won a big prize, she was skeptical. “At first we told him not to call back,” said Sabatino’s manager Lisa Morekas. “We thought it was a prank.” It wasn’t until his son, Marcelino Jr. looked on the Lottery’s website that everyone was convinced the call was authentic.
“I went online a little after midnight and saw his name on the front page,” said Marcelino Jr.
“I called and woke him up and said, ‘Dad, it’s true, you won $1,000 a week for 20 years.’” The elated winner said he had some trouble sleeping after receiving the great news.
The father-of-two and grandfather-of-four plans to use his winnings to purchase a house for his daughter, buy a car for himself and possibly take a trip with his family. Despite his newfound wealth, the devoted Sabatino’s employee has no intention of leaving his place of employment any time soon.
Players collected the letters C-A-S-H from Set for Life 2 scratch-offs and mailed them in for entry into the top-prize drawing. Marcelino’s entry was randomly selected from more than 40,000 entries. For a list of all Lottery second-chance contests, visit mdlottery.com.