Retired electrician Richard Loveless of Port Byron, New York is no stranger to Lotto luck. He's been rubbing elbows with Lotto millionaires for years but this was his year.

The Baldwinsville native grew up less than a mile from two other Lotto winners. Loveless’ childhood friend Susan Garner of Baldwinsville split a $2.8 million Lotto jackpot prize with her brother in 1995. Another friend, Sharon Zuke Jackson of Phoenix, NY was one of three siblings who split a $15 million Lotto jackpot in 1997. Fellow Port Byron resident, Richard Smith, was the sole winner of a $6 million Lotto jackpot drawn in 2001.

“I’d like to finish building the garage I started years ago. It keeps me out of trouble.

Loveless’ uncanny connection with some of Central New York’s richest Lottery winners extends to his former workplace, New Process Gear in East Syracuse, where employees pooled their money in 2010 and split Mega Millions top prize of $26 million.

This year it was Loveless' turn. He won the $42.5 million Lotto jackpot with numbers that have sentimental value. “My numbers represent my mom and dad’s birthdays. I honestly believe divine intervention had something to do with my win,” he says.

Loveless plans to use his new found fortune to pay off his children’s college loans and “help out all of my loved ones.” As for immediate plans, Loveless says, “I’d like to finish building the garage I started years ago. It keeps me out of trouble.”

Loveless purchased his jackpot-winning Lotto ticket at the Pit Stop on North St. in Weedsport.

The next time you're looking to buy a lotto ticket, you might want to head in that direction. It seem that's where all the winners are coming from. There must be something in the air.


MORE: Proof There Are Angels Among Us

Follow Polly on Facebook

More From Big Frog 104