"When I walked in I noticed there was a garbage. They don't usually have that there and thought to myself 'I can throw my tickets away as I check them.' Because I had a bunch to check, I let the man behind me go first. I didn't want to hold him up," Pitruzzella told New York Lottery officials.
Pitruzzella said she decided to put her wait time to good use.
"While I was waiting I noticed the Lottery machine and told myself if I have $2 I will play. I did. I put the $2 in and immediately noticed the Win for Life game, it's an oldie but goodie," she said.
The Win for Life ticket turned out to be a top prize winner -- earning her $1,000 a week for life.
"I saw one LIFE, then the second LIFE and figured there is no way there could be a third LIFE. There was. I just kept looking at it over and over," she said. "I checked my ticket in the scanner and the words were a blur. All I saw was 'see Lottery.'"
Pitruzzella chose the option to receive annual payments of $52,000 for life, with a minimum of $1 million.
"Oh my gosh, it's surreal. It will give me a cushion and make life easier," she said of her win.
