Random Thoughts of Mine...

LOSER'S $65M WIN
COLLECTS 1 YR. AFTER TOSSING JACKPOT TIX

Here's a guy who figured out how to be both the luckiest and unluckiest man on the face of the earth at the same time.

One crazy afternoon in June of last year, maintenance man Degli Martinez learned he had won a $65 million Lotto jackpot - the largest single prize in the 30-year history of the state Lotto game.

He then promptly lost the ticket.

That began a yearlong odyssey of hand-wringing and heartburn before Lottery officials were finally able to hand Martinez his check yesterday.

"It was a lot of pain waiting," said the 55-year-old Paraguayan immigrant at a lower Manhattan press conference.

Martinez's wild tale began on June 29, 2007, when he bought a handful of tickets at a minimart in Sunnyside.

He returned the following day and had store clerk Supriyo Bhattacharjee scan the ticket bar codes to check for winners.

Bhattacharjee found a $2 winner and a couple of losers and then his eyes widened with surprise.