By Alex Christodoulides
Pablo Mogollon, 54, of Forest Hills, was one of two winners announced last Thursday of an $8 million Lotto jackpot from a drawing held Jan. 30. The second winner was Belarus-born electrical contractor Oleg Soloviev of Brooklyn.The two split the prize money down the middle, opting for lump sum payments of $2,196,506 for each once taxes were deducted, New York State Lottery said.Mogollon, a registered nurse at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, said he is a longtime Lotto player.”I started playing back in nursing school for the fun of it and have been playing the same lucky numbers ever since,” he said.He bought the $5 winning ticket on Jan. 27, with a mix of randomly generated Quick Pick numbers and his lucky numbers, at BHP News on 82nd Street in Jackson Heights.He thought he was the only one with those lucky numbers until he was alerted that he and Soloviev were both winners of the same jackpot.”There is no special meaning to the numbers I chose,” Mogollon said. “They're just my numbers – or so I thought.”Mogollon said he is to depart soon for a monthlong, pre-scheduled trip to visit family and friends in Peru. When he returns, he plans to look for a new home, he told New York State Lottery.And what with the news announcement on Valentine's Day, Mogollon hinted that he might be ready to settle down.”It's not out of the question,” he said.Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
