New York Lottery Win Brings Guaman Family Together After 15 Years

(Dec. 15) -- A scratch-off lottery ticket is bringing Ecuadorian immigrant Florencio Guaman something he hasn't had in 15 years: his family.

New York Lottery

New York Lottery winner Florencio Guaman holds the first of his winning checks -- he'll receive more than $30,000 a year for 20 years.

When Guaman left the South American nation for the U.S., he also left his eight children and his wife behind. His visa prohibits him from leaving America -- and they couldn't come to him, according to the New York Post.

The winning ticket, worth $1 million, means Guaman, 63, will get $31,191 a year for 20 years, after taxes, according to the New York Lottery -- plenty to bring his brood to New York for a visit.

"It's a very emotional thing," Guaman said at a news conference in Manhattan's Central Park on Monday. He spoke through an interpreter.

Guaman works as a superintendent for a company that specializes in removing construction debris, according to the New York Lottery. He often stops at the K&L Dairy Farm store in Queens on his way home from work. On Nov. 23, he bought a ticket, showed his friend the retailer, and both of them started leaping around the store.

"I will have money to give my family a better life," he said. "This is the best Christmas present," he told the Post.