SALEM | Tomi Gjikuria strolled into the White Hen Pantry on Norman Street on Tuesday afternoon, bought a $10 Lottery ticket and walked back to his pizza parlor to scratch it.
"I screamed," he said. "I was waiting for that for 15 years."
Gjikuria, the owner of Deleo's Pizza, 28 Norman St., won the grand prize in "Set For Life," an instant game that will pay him $100,000 a year for the rest of his life. After taxes, he will get about $70,000.
That would be a great prize for any Lottery winner, but especially for Gjikuria. He is 36 and comes from an Albanian family known for its longevity.
"My grandmother is still living, and she's over 97," he said.
A Peabody resident, Gjikuria and his wife have two young children, including a daughter who celebrated her birthday yesterday -- the day he picked up his first check.
"It was my lucky day, I guess," he said.
Jan. 23 will continue to be his lucky day. The check will be mailed every year on his daughter's birthday.
Still in shock, the pizza parlor owner hasn't decided what he will do next. He works more than 80 hours a week at the small restaurant and, for the moment, plans to keep working.
Asked why he wasn't out celebrating yesterday, he said, "Hey, I got a business to run."
Gjikuria said he has been buying Lottery tickets almost since he came to this country 17 years ago. He knows the odds of winning are astronomically long, but he just felt lucky.
"If you don't try your luck, you're never going to find out or not," he said.
Set for Life, a $10 instant game that was launched in 2005, offers 25 grand prizes. Gjikuria is the 20th winner.
But he was not the only winner. The White Hen Pantry will receive a $20,000 commission for selling the winning ticket.
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Salem pizza parlor owner rolling in dough for life
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