Big lottery wins for East Islip, Brookhaven men

Talk about setting your kid up for life.

James Fannon, 31, says he has his parents to thank for the $34,934 he’ll be receiving each year for as long as he lives.

That’s because his mom and dad tucked Win $1,000 a Week for Life scratch-off tickets into his Valentine’s Day card. And one turned out to be a winner — big time.

“Once I realized it was for real, I was a bit surprised,” said Fannon of East Islip, one of the Long Island and Queens residents to walk away Wednesday with ceremonial New York Lottery checks adding up to $23.4 million, presented at a ceremony in Plainview.

“It’s something my parents like to do instead of giving me candy,” Fannon said of the lottery tickets.

The first ticket he scratched was a bust, but the second one made him think he needed his eyes checked, according to a news release.

“I thought I was reading it wrong,” Fannon said, so he asked his parents to double-check the numbers.

The winning ticket was bought at Pequa Spirits, 5151 Merrick Rd. in Massapequa Park.

Fannon, who is unemployed, opted to receive annual installments of $52,000, which works out to a net check of $34,934 a year for the rest of his life, the lottery said.

“The first thing I’ll do is buy a new car,” he said.

Also getting an impressive check was Peter Hess, a Brookhaven resident who considers himself an on-and-off lottery player.

Hess, 60, had the winning ticket for the Jan. 6 LOTTO drawing. The jackpot: $9.2 million, the lottery said.

When Hess checked his ticket a few days later and realized he had won, he went straight home and called his sister in California. It was her lucky day, too. Hess told his sister, Carol Murphy, that he was splitting his winnings with her.

After required withholdings, the lottery said, each is getting a check for $2,113,982.

Hess, who bought the ticket at King Kullen, 552 Main St. in Center Moriches, said he doesn’t have any immediate plans for the money other than using some to help family.

Retired restaurant owner Vasilios Panagopoulos, of Flushing, is giving his $6.2 million in winnings from a LOTTO ticket to his wife and their three children, who had asked him jokingly to “play one for us,” the lottery said.

“He has always sacrificed for this family,” said his wife, Dimitra Panagopoulos, 55. “We are as one.”

Indeed, “it’s very important to my father to see us all happy. He has always been very giving,” said son George Panagopoulos, 33, from Little Neck.

After required holdings, the family members — mother, son George and siblings Menelaos Panagopoulos, 31, and Peter Panagopoulos, 28, both of Flushing — will each receive $635,026.

The ticket was bought at the Family Bakery Outlet, 77-26 21st Ave. in East Elmhurst.

Zhao Yang Liu, a chef from Flushing, had “hoped and dreamed” that someday that he hit it big with the lottery. And he did.

Liu won the $7,000,000 Cash Blowout scratch-off game; he bought his ticket at Mitul Quickstop, 60-08 Main St. in Flushing.

“I scratched the coin symbol and knew I won right away,” said Liu, through an interpreter. When he called his wife to tell her, he said, “she thought I was playing a joke on her.”

Liu will receive a one-time lump sum of $4,431,280, after required withholdings, the lottery said.

For now, the only plans that Liu has for his fortune is to start with paying off some bills.