Armand Paganelli Wins Lottery 16 Times In Two Years: Lottery Seller Gives Secrets For His $625,000 Mega Millions And ‘Win 4’ Wins


For those who’ve read about Armand Paganelli winning the lottery a whopping 16 times in 2013 and 2014 at his own store where he sells lottery tickets, the wins initially sound shady. As reported by the Daily Mail, Paganelli has experienced an amazing amount of favor with his lottery wins — more than any New York resident.

Initially, thoughts of the man who won $75,000 via a lottery scratch-off ticket but only claimed $75, as reported by the Inquisitr, arise. That instance turned out to be an undercover lottery agent checking and testing the honesty of the store owner and employees. However, the 16 winning tickets that have brought Paganelli $625,000 weren’t the scratch-off type of tickets that can be taken from unsuspecting customers who hand over their winning tickets for the retailer to check.

Although the 15 “Win 4” winning lottery tickets that brought Armand $25,000 for each one — and $375,000 total — could have presumably belonged to others, Paganelli swears that he bought them himself. Another $250,000 Mega Millions winning ticket brought his winning total to $625,000 within two years.

The owner, along with his brothers, of the Mt. Carmel Pharmacy on East 187th Street, shares secrets for being the winningest person of lottery jackpots greater than $10,000 in New York since January 2011.

First off, the 54-year-old Paganelli told the New York Post that his first secret for winning so many lottery jackpots is that he plays very often. In a move that’s quite legal for lottery retailers to accomplish, Armand buys lottery tickets in a high volume because he’s right there selling them, presumably on a daily basis.

While Paganelli wouldn’t divulge exactly how many Mega Millions or “Win-4” tickets he buys each day, Armand admitted he bought a lot.

“I buy a lot of tickets. They’re here and I like to gamble.”

Secondly, the 16 winning tickets Paganelli cashed in were mostly “Win-4” lottery tickets with only one $250,000 Mega Millions prize. This tip could mean that picking four numbers could prove a better probability win than buying lots of scratch-off tickets. One doesn’t know if Armand played the “Win-4” numbers straight or boxed.

According to the New York Lottery, the odds of winning four matched numbers in exact order are 10,000 to one. A $1 bet would bring the four-number in exact order winner $5,000 — so Paganelli could have placed $5 bets on exact-order “Win 4” tickets to win $25,000 each of those 15 times. The New York Lottery lists a number of other ways their “Win 4” game can also be played.

A third secret of Armand’s lottery luck is that he claims to have taken quite a loss in the lottery. So while the 16 winning tickets totaling $625,000 in two years are being bandied about in big headlines — Paganelli isn’t reporting his losses.

“The negative is much greater than the positive, you can be sure of that.”

Does that mean Paganelli has spent $1 million to gain that $625,000? Only if Armand divulges his actual lottery expenses will the public know for sure.

A fourth secret to Armand’s winning lottery success could be pegged to what he claims is his honest nature. The owner of the drugstore — which has been in business since 1964 — said he never thought of cheating the lottery system.

“I never thought of it; we’re honest, good people.”

The fifth and final secret to Paganelli’s lottery winning success could be due to the old “seed to the sower” adage and Armand’s giving, altruistic nature. His $625,000 lottery fortune goes towards the college funds for his four children and for charities like the Bronx Boys and Girls Club.

“Everywhere you look is charity, it’s our life, it’s what we do.”

Apparently, Paganelli’s lottery winnings also help fund their elaborate Westchester house — but ironically, Armand’s wife Janice is against her husband’s gambling, even though she calls him lucky. Paganelli’s lottery buying is apparently all his own doing because Armand says his wife has never bought a lottery ticket throughout her whole life because she’s against gambling. She’s not above cashing the winning lottery tickets for her husband when he asks Janice to cash in his winning tickets, though.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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