October 16, 2008 -- While relaxing on the front porch of his house on Wednesday, Ted Cormier, Jr., a heating and cooling mechanic from Burlington, CT played a single “Max-A-Millions” scratch ticket from the CT Lottery and instantly won the first of eight $2,000,000 top prizes in the game. “When I first saw the $2,000,000 I thought to myself, ‘this can’t be right,’ said Ted with a laugh.

After checking his ticket several more times, however, Ted was finally certain that his Max-A-Millions ticket was indeed a winning one. “I told my wife, Jen, to come out to the porch; I had something life-changing to tell her.” When she got there, Ted blurted out, “I won two-million dollars!” and showed her the ticket. A flurry of phone calls ensued while the Cormier’s shared the good news with family and friends. “I’m still in shock. It still hasn’t hit me yet,” Ted shared with lottery officials.

Not too surprisingly, Ted and Jennifer didn’t sleep a wink that night due to all the excitement. “We kept going back downstairs to the refrigerator where the ticket was hanging to look it,” explained Ted with a laugh.

Cormier, complete with a mega-watt smile upon his face, arrived at Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill yesterday with his family to have his winning ticket validated. Cormier selected the Lottery’s 60-day waiting option to decide whether to take the $2,000,000 Max-A-Millions top prize as a 20-year annuity, or the cash lump sum equivalent. The Cormier’s are wisely seeking professional financial advice to help decide which option is best for their family. “Now the kids are set for college,” said Ted with a sigh of relief.

Cormier’s top prize winning ticket was purchased at Cumberland Farms, located at 291 Spielman Highway in Burlington. Cumberland Farms will receive a $20,000 commission for selling the ticket.