8/18/2005 - 12:00 AM

Martinez Claims Half of $1.1 Million Lotto Jackpot

Lotto winner Angel Martinez is pictured with his wife and son.

Angel A. Martinez of Foley, Ala., has always used personal numbers whenever he purchased lottery tickets, but he let a computer pick a Lotto ticket for him on a trip through Louisiana and it paid off - big time!

"The clerk asked if I wanted to pick my own numbers, which I usually do, but I told her to go ahead and give me a quick pick. When we returned to Alabama after a trip to San Antonio, Texas, I checked my ticket and found that I had won," Martinez said.

He became the ninth Lotto jackpot winner this year, claiming $559,182 at the Louisiana Lottery corporate offices and receiving a check for $391,427 after state and federal taxes were withheld.

His winnings were one-half of a $1.1 million Lotto jackpot shared by Martinez for a ticket he purchased in Sulphur, La., and by Richard Works for a ticket he bought in his home town of French Settlement.

The winning numbers for the July 27 drawing were 4-7-14-16-29-32.

Martinez bought a "quick-pick ticket" at Quick Stuff, 2484 Cities Service Highway, Sulphur, which will receive a one-time selling bonus of $5,591, or 1 percent of the prize.

The Lottery encourages anyone who thinks they may have a gambling problem or has friends or family who may have a gambling problem to call toll free 1-877-770-7867. Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age.