NEW ROCHELLE – A New Rochelle couple and a Middletown man came up big winners in the state lottery

Hope Shanahan Wednesday received a surprise baby shower when the expectant mom was presented a ceremonial check for $1 million for winning the top prize in New York Lottery’s Big Bucks instant game.

She and her husband, William, who are expecting in October, received their cash at Five Island Park in New Rochelle.

Plant discusses his win at the Orange County Speedway

“The timing is perfect,” she said. “This is truly a dream come true for us.” Shanahan, 34, said news of the couple’s “double blessing” was making the rounds at Sherwood’s Restaurant and Bar-B-Q in Larchmont where she’s worked as a waitress for the past 13 years.

William Shanahan purchased the pair’s winning ticket on April 15, 2008 at a newsstand owned by the Jonu Corporation located at 288 North Avenue in New Rochelle. The pair claimed the ticket on April 21, 2008 at the Lottery’s customer service center in Garden City.

The couple plans to stay in Westchester County where both will continue working.

The Shanahans will receive their prize paid out as $50,000 a year for 20 years, minus taxes.

Meanwhile, years ago the New York State Lottery slogan was “All it takes is a dollar and a dream,” but for one man in Middletown, it didn’t even take that much.

For  Richard Plant, 44, of Middletown, all it took was a penny, in his eyes, to win $1 million on the $500 million Extravaganza scratch-off last month.

Though Plant, a lifelong plumber by day and pit crew member by night, spent $20 on the ticket he purchased on April 25 at the Jet Mart on East Main Street, he attributed the winnings to a lucky penny.

“I found this penny while I was at work one day, and it was staring me in the face.  I figured ‘what do I have to lose,’ so I picked it up and used it to pay for the ticket.  I was completely shocked when I found out I won.”

Plant said his first priorities with the money include home improvements, paying off debt, and taking his two kids, Amber, 16, and Kaylie, 20, to Disney World, as he promised when they were younger.

He also said his dreams of getting back into the local demolition derby will now become a reality.

 “The first time I entered I was given a car by a gentleman who didn’t feel like driving one Saturday night, and I won $500 and the addiction’s been there since,” he said. “You think it’s fun hitting someone in the parking lot, try it in the demo derby where it’s legal.”

The New York Lottery’s latest winner said he and his wife Julie will continue to work full-time despite the winnings, which will bring them nearly $35,000 per year after taxes for the next 20 years.