Irish Waitress Wins $21.5m NY Lottery

An Irish woman living on Long Island has scooped a $21.5m jackpot in the New York State Lottery.

Patricia Daly Eisel (40), originally from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, but now living and working in Nassau County matched all six numbers in the draw on January 5th.

In an amazing twist, she should have been visiting Ireland at the time.

But the winter storms forced her stay in New York.

And what seemed like a nightmare has turned into a dream come true.

She spent $8 on a lottery ticket at Sand Castle Wine & Liquor in Long Beach, and couldn't believe her eyes when she checked the winning numbers.

"When I checked my numbers I just started shaking," said the mother-of-three, "I was doing my laundry at the time and I decided to check the results from the night before.

"All six numbers matched the numbers on my ticket and I froze.

"I composed myself, gathered up my laundry and went to a friend's house to make sure I wasn't seeing things!"

She wasn't.

Ms Eisel Daly, who is separated, has worked for the last nine years as a waitress at the popular West End bar, The Saloon, to provide for her three young boys.

She opted to claim her massive jackpot as a one-time lump sum payment. It means after tax, she will receive $7,907,313.

"I will buy a home, not a house, here in New York," she said, "Something very comfortable with a big fenced-in yard that the boys can run around in. I know they'll be thrilled when I tell them we'll also buy a family dog to run around the yard with them."

A trip to Disneyland is also on the cards.

She said she may remain working in The Saloon, at least in the short term, even though she is Long Island's newest millionaire.

"That's my family. My customers are my family. My boss is my family," she said.

After collecting her check from Lottery headquarters on Thursday, she spent the evening celebrating with her friends at the Saloon, before catching a black limo to the airport.

She flew straight home to Ireland to tell her family in Offaly about her good fortune, and has now appealed for privacy.