Kenny Guido
Well-known member
Banker from LI wins $1M-for-life lottery
BY MARIA ALVAREZ | Special to Newsday 6:10 PM EDT, October 28, 2008
The LI-born banker said the public may not have much sympathy for a rich man getting richer. (AP Photo / October 28, 2008)
Already a well-to-do executive at an Italian banking firm, former Massapequa resident Kenan Altunis knows he won't attract the goodwill garnered by blue-collar Joes who win the lottery.
That's why Altunis said Tuesday that he would donate part of the nearly $1 million annual payoff he will receive.
Winning was "bittersweet," he said, because in tough economic times, the public may not have much sympathy for a rich man getting richer.
"I'm mindful of that, and it has created a lot of stress. I will have to be very responsible with what I do with the money," Altunis said.
Altunis, 33, won the Win $1,000,000 a Year for Life scratch-off game and will receive $931,500 a year for the rest of his life. The payoff is exempt from federal taxes because Altunis is a citizen of the United Kingdom.
Altunis lives in London with his wife, who grew up in Plainview, and their 15-month-old daughter. He works for Italy's UniCredit Group.
Altunis said he is a "degenerate lottery player," and was captivated in September by a lottery ad when he was in town for a wedding.
Leaving for London, he gave his mother $100 to buy $30 tickets at a service station on Northern Boulevard in East Norwich.
Cajoled by a store cashier, Altunis' mother put in the extra $20 to buy a fourth ticket - the winning one.
"She freaked out," Altunis said. "She was scared to call me. She called my sister, who checked out the ticket and wrote me an e-mail: 'Call me now, great news.' "
Altunis' mother stuffed the ticket under the mattress and didn't leave the house for three days, until Altunis returned to New York to sign it.
BY MARIA ALVAREZ | Special to Newsday 6:10 PM EDT, October 28, 2008
The LI-born banker said the public may not have much sympathy for a rich man getting richer. (AP Photo / October 28, 2008)
Already a well-to-do executive at an Italian banking firm, former Massapequa resident Kenan Altunis knows he won't attract the goodwill garnered by blue-collar Joes who win the lottery.
That's why Altunis said Tuesday that he would donate part of the nearly $1 million annual payoff he will receive.
Winning was "bittersweet," he said, because in tough economic times, the public may not have much sympathy for a rich man getting richer.
"I'm mindful of that, and it has created a lot of stress. I will have to be very responsible with what I do with the money," Altunis said.
Altunis, 33, won the Win $1,000,000 a Year for Life scratch-off game and will receive $931,500 a year for the rest of his life. The payoff is exempt from federal taxes because Altunis is a citizen of the United Kingdom.
Altunis lives in London with his wife, who grew up in Plainview, and their 15-month-old daughter. He works for Italy's UniCredit Group.
Altunis said he is a "degenerate lottery player," and was captivated in September by a lottery ad when he was in town for a wedding.
Leaving for London, he gave his mother $100 to buy $30 tickets at a service station on Northern Boulevard in East Norwich.
Cajoled by a store cashier, Altunis' mother put in the extra $20 to buy a fourth ticket - the winning one.
"She freaked out," Altunis said. "She was scared to call me. She called my sister, who checked out the ticket and wrote me an e-mail: 'Call me now, great news.' "
Altunis' mother stuffed the ticket under the mattress and didn't leave the house for three days, until Altunis returned to New York to sign it.