November 16, 2010 -- Riding his bicycle to a nearby convenience store several times each week gives Otto Kastenhuber of Northford good exercise and a chance to buy tickets for the Classic Lotto and Powerball jackpot draw games. On a recent autumn ride though, Kastenhuber got more than he ever expected, but had always hoped to experience-- buying a ticket that would win a jackpot he could share with his three sons.

And that he did, on November 9. The six numbers on Kastenhuber's Classic Lotto ticket were a perfect match for those drawn that night, 2-7-11-23-25-38.  The match won him a cool $1,700,000.

Discovering his winning luck, Kastenhuber crafted a surprise. He planned to cash the ticket, and present his sons, Andy and Kenny of North Haven, and Steve, who resides in Cromwell, each with a check worth 25 percent of the win. Learning that each winner must provide identification, Otto's surprise gift turned into a family outing, as he and all three of his sons came to Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill yesterday to file their claim.

Sharing the prize money with his sons was a comfortable choice for Otto, since they long ago helped pick the numbers he played twice weekly. "One of them is from an old football jersey," son Andy noted. The others mark family birth dates and special events.

Classic Lotto's jackpot is payable as a 21-year annuity or a one-time cash lump-sum. The family elected the lump-sum of $1,132,203 (before taxes). The net prize was $775,559. Each winner received a prize check for $193,889.

"It isn't a life changing sum of money," said Andy, "but it provides security, a safety net," which will help the brothers in a variety of ways. Other mentions of how the prize money will be used included mortgage payoffs, college expenses, a family vacation to Germany, and helping to secure the financial futures of their family members.

The Kastenhubers have become the 6th Classic Lotto jackpot claimants this year. The family's winning jackpot ticket was the only one sold for the November 9, 2010 drawing, and there were 6,943 additional winning tickets sold in that draw with prizes from $2 up to $1,726 each.

The Bottle Crib located at 1065 Middletown Avenue in Northford sold the winning jackpot ticket, and will receive a $10,000 bonus for doing so.