January 02, 2009 -- Charlotte Peters got more than she expected when having Lottery tickets purchased by her late husband checked at the grocery store. Expecting she might win a few dollars, Mrs. Peters was stunned to learn that one of the Classic Lotto tickets was worth $10,022,823, making her Connecticut's First Lottery Millionaire of the New Year. "It's certainly more than the $2 I'm used to winning," Peters said as she spoke with Lottery officials who greeted her.

Earlier today, Mrs. Peters, surrounded by family members, presented her winning ticket to Lottery officials at the agency's Rocky Hill headquarters. Peters has not yet made plans for the windfall. Lottery regulations allow jackpot winners 60 days after filing a claim to determine a prize payment option that is best for them. Winners can opt to receive Classic Lotto jackpot prizes in 21 equal annual payments or in a one-time cash lump sum amount. Peters intends to speak with professional financial planners to help her choose which payment option will be best for her.

If Peters selects the annuity option, she'll receive $477,277 (pre-taxes) annually for 21 payments. The choice of a one-time cash lump sum payment will be worth $6,048,0777 (pre-taxes).

While Peters' winning jackpot ticket was the only one sold for the Dec. 2 Lotto drawing, there were also 17,168 additional winning tickets in that draw, winning prizes ranging from $2 to $1,302. Peter's winning Classic Lotto numbers were 02-07-09-11-27-33.

"This is the best part of our jobs," said Paul R. Sternburg, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the CT Lottery. "Lottery wins like this change lives. Not only will Mrs. Peters take home a sizeable amount of money, but Connecticut has also become a winner as a result of the transfer of $6.4 million in revenue generated by those sales."

Peters' winning jackpot ticket was sold by the 7-Eleven Convenience Store located at 29 Mill Plain Road in Danbury. A bonus of $10,000 is awarded to retailers in good standing that sell Classic Lotto jackpot tickets.