THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110692
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: NEWINGTON, CONN. LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
A 26-year-old Norfolk sailor stepped forward Thursday and became the single largest winner in the history of the Connecticut Lottery.
Pat Griffin, a U.S. Navy sonar technician, claimed the $19.6 million prize from the lottery's drawing Oct. 28. On Thursday he received a check for $706,328, the first of 20 annual payments the unmarried sailor will receive between now and the year 2014.
Griffin is assigned to the Norfolk-based Afloat Training Group, which puts ships through shakedown from bases in Guantanamo, Cuba, and along the East Coast, to make sure all their systems are working as they prepare to join the fleet.
Griffin was on temporary duty in New London, working at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, when he purchased his tickets.
He said the winning ticket was one of two $1 ``quick picks'' he purchased at a a grocery store while en route to the airport to return to Virginia.
He was in Norfolk when he learned that the one with the numbers 6-17-31-36-38 was the winner.
``I found out on Halloween, three days after the drawing,'' he said.
He said he telephoned a Navy friend in New London and asked her to read the winning numbers to him.
``She read off the numbers, and they all matched. I didn't believe her,'' Griffin said at a news conference he attended wearing jeans and a sweater.
He said he called the telephone number on the back of the Lotto ticket three times to confirm the winning numbers.
``When I realized I had really won,'' he said, ``I couldn't stop shaking.''
Griffin, who is in the midst of his third hitch in the Navy, said he immediately placed the ticket in a safe on the Norfolk Naval Base and began calling estate planners.
Asked what he plans to do with the money, he said the funds will be ``parked'' in various savings accounts and safe investments while he decides what to do with his life.
``My current Navy hitch doesn't end until November 1998,'' he said. ``I'd like to go to college and study business and finance so I'll know how to best handle my investments.''
KEYWORDS: LOTTERIES WINNERS CONNECTICUT by CNB