March 29, 2011 -- In his quest to buy a cup of coffee for his wife, Jane, Will Mastrogiovanni of Torrington stopped at North Elm Mobil, located on 100 North Elm Street in Torrington, and purchased a few CT Lottery Mega Millions® tickets along with a “Treasure” instant ticket.  But, instead giving her the coffee, Mastrogiovanni offered Jane something different—a $50,000 top prize winning “Treasure” ticket.  

Last week, Mastrogiovanni had the pleasure of discovering an unexpected number match on his Treasure ticket—a lucky pair of 16s—but thought he was “seeing things” when he scratched away the prize area.  “It took me awhile.  I thought it was for $50, until I saw the comma,” Mastrogiovanni said.

When Mastrogiovanni returned home, Jane inquired about her coffee.  “I told her I went to buy her coffee, but something happened instead…and handed her the ticket,” said Mastrogiovanni.  “It was hard to believe…and I never did get my coffee,” Jane told lottery officials with a chuckle.

The Torrington couple was in high spirits last week when they arrived at CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill to accept a prize check for $34,251 (value after taxes).  “We’re both retired,” said Mastrogiovanni, “so we’ll take a nice trip somewhere.”

For selling Mastrogiovanni his prize winning ticket, North Elm Mobil will receive a $500 bonus check from the CT Lottery.