Bayside Checkout Granny Bags $1M Prize

A Bayside supermarket cashier who scratched off a $1 million lottery prize on January 26 said she has no immediate plans to quit her job.

Peggie Wilkins, a 28-year veteran checker at a Bayside Waldbaum's Supermarket, stunned co-workers when she headed back to her counter after scratching off the big prize in the New York Lottery "$500,000,000 Extravaganza" game.

Wilkins, a widowed grandmother of five, smiled and bagged oranges and bananas at her Aisle 7 counter on Saturday as customers stopped by to congratulate her on her winnings.

"I really don't know how much longer I'll keep working," she said. "But for now, I have a job to do. I believe you have to take care of the little things. Then the big things will come to you."

Waldbaum's employees said Wilkins arrived on time, as usual, for her 7:30 a.m. shift on Friday. "She took a minute to buy a $20 Extravaganza ticket from a machine in the front of the store, the way she always does," employees said.

"She couldn't read the part she scratched, so she asked someone in the Produce Section to read it for her," employees said. "She asked him if the ticket said she had won $1,000, and he told her she was wrong. He said she won a million dollars, and she just went crazy. Everybody started screaming, hugging her, and calling her 'Million-Dollar Baby'. It was amazing."

When things quieted down, Wilkins stashed the winning ticket safely in her purse and headed back to Aisle 7 to check out waiting customers.

Wilkins said the Waldbaum's store has always given her good luck. "I met my husband here," she said.

The St. Albans mother of three said she has played $10 or $20 games each week, limiting herself to $40 a week for tickets. "I trust my judgment when deciding which tickets to buy," she said. "I usually win something, but I never thought I would win this much." Wilkins left work early on Friday and headed to the New York Lottery Center in Great Neck to collect her winnings.

She said she plans to trade in her Volvo for a newer model. She also plans to buy a house so her children and grandchildren "will always have a home to come back to", she said.

Wilkins prepared a special Sunday dinner this weekend where she broke the news of her good luck to her family. "Right now, I'm making plans to take my co-workers out for a steak dinner," Wilkins said. "They're my family, too."

"If I decide to retire, I will probably spend more time with my family, and volunteering at my church," Wilkins added.

Lottery officials said Wilkins would receive $50,000 in annual increments over a 20-year period. She will clear about $32,250 a year after city, state and federal taxes.

- By Liz Goff