October 17, 2012 -- Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, so they say, but for Diane Henley of Hamden the “$100,000,000 Diamond Mine” CT Lottery instant game is unquestionably a close second—after claiming one of the game’s $1,000,000 top prizes.

Having recently noticed that $100,000,000 Diamond Mine still had two top prize winning tickets remaining in the game to be claimed, Henley decided to take a chance and buy a ticket from her favorite lottery retailer.  “Diamond Mine had been out for a long time, and I thought I’d give it a shot,” said Henley, a speech pathologist in the public school system.  One week and a few tickets later, Henley shockingly found herself in the possession of a Diamond Mine ticket with a winning combination—a pair of 6’s and one of the game’s $1,000,000 top prizes.

“The ticket was waiting for me with my name on it,” Henley said jokingly to Lottery officials.  “I did a double take when I saw the prize, and then signed the ticket immediately.”

Payable as a 20-year annuity or a one-time cash lump-sum equivalent, Henley chose the game’s top prize lump-sum value of $578,400 (before taxes), with plans to pay off some bills and invest for the future.  “I still can’t believe it,” Henley said.

A CT Lottery retailer since 1998, Prashant Patel, owner of Snack Plus II, located at 75 Putnam Avenue in Hamden, was thrilled to celebrate Henley’s incredibly good fortune.  “She’s a very good lady… one of my regular, local customers,” Patel said.  “We were all shocked and very excited for her win.”

Snack Plus II has certainly sold their share of top prize winning instant game tickets in years past, including a “Connecticut Lottery Gold” $500,000 prize winning ticket and another $500,000 winner in the “$500,000 Cash Bonanza” game.  “I think we’re a very lucky store,” Patel said.

For selling Henley her $1,000,000 top prize winning ticket, Snack Plus II will receive a $10,000 bonus check from the CT Lottery.