Anthony Perosi: Plumber Stumbles On Forgotten Lotto Ticket, Wins $136 Million

Anthony Perosi bought his Powerball ticket and promptly forgot about it.

Force of habit for the Staten Island plumber, who made a point of returning to the pipe in his basement where he would keep a stack of forgotten $2 tickets just to check if he had won one of the smaller prizes.

He certainly didn’t expect big things from the ongoing habit. But when his truck broke down he decided to see if maybe there was something in there.

He’d recently been told that a school teacher won the Powerball lottery with a ticket she’d purchased where he normally got his tickets. Since lightning doesn’t tend to strike twice in the same place, his expectations had really been lowered, he told Pix 11.

But on that desperate night when he went to his basement to do the thing he’d done countless times before, his life changed forever.

Anthony Perosi had the five winning numbers — 8, 14, 39, 46, 47 (which he said he’d picked randomly) — and that win earned him a heart-racing $136 million.

Anthony claimed his cash value winnings of $88,533,767 the following day. He’s splitting the money with his son, Anthony Perosi III. After all withholdings, the site said, he’ll walk away with $38,612,055, while his son will get $16,548,023.

The two said they plan to pay off some bills and go on vacations.

“I honestly don’t know what my plans are right now,” said the elder Perosi. “I want to continue to work, but will be able to relax a little more and not have any worries financially.”

It’s important for winners like Anthony Perosi to be mindful and safe now that the check has been collected. Lottery winners are frequently the targets of crimes, as indicated in this past report from the Inquisitr.

“When rags to riches winner Abraham Shakespeare won the $30 million lottery, his mother told him the money was cursed. Shakespeare disappeared in 2009 but was later found murdered under a concrete slab in the backyard of a home of Dee Dee Moore and her boyfriend. Dee Dee Moore, Abraham Shakespeare’s friend-turned-part-time lover, promised to write a book about him but killed him and buried his body instead.

“In 2013, Chicago resident Urooj Khan died the day after winning a $425,000 jackpot. The death, thought to be caused by poisoning, was later ruled a homicide. No one has been arrested. The investigation is ongoing.”

Apparently, the first thing a winner should do is hire a bodyguard.

But what say you, readers? Does Anthony Perosi have the right idea for how to use his winnings? What would you do with $38 million?

[Image via Pix 11, linked above]