Trending Topics

Retired firefighter, 9/11 first responder wins $500,000 in Connecticut Lottery

Patrick Gordiski recently retired from the Greenwich Fire Department

Gordiski-1.png

Photo/Courtesy CT Lottery

Andrew DaRosa
New Haven Register, Conn.

GREENWICH, Conn. — A recently retired firefighter from the Greenwich Fire Department has walked away with a jackpot prize through the Connecticut Lottery.

Patrick Gordiski , who was also a 9/11 first responder who assisted at Ground Zero, won the $500,000 jackpot from the "$500,000 CA$HWORD” scratch ticket. According to the Connecticut Lottery, Gordiski and his wife were buying scratch tickets for fun while planning a vacation. While playing, Gordiski got the last letter he needed in the crossword-style lottery game and secured the jackpot prize.

Trending
With the new “1323" schedule, the Charleston Fire Department addressed health concerns with maintaining the 56-hour workweek
FEMA reversed a months-long freeze after determining key courses were critical to local and national emergency response efforts
A small plane crashed into San Diego’s Murphy Canyon neighborhood, igniting about 15 homes and vehicles
Stay current on NIOSH program layoffs, the status of the National Fire Academy and changes to FEMA

The odds of claiming the jackpot were 1 in 500,000, according to the Connecticut Lottery.

The ticket was purchased at the Byram Smoke Shop in Greenwich and was claimed on May 5, according to the Connecticut Lottery’s winners list. For selling the winning ticket, the Byram Smoke Shop will receive a $5,000 bonus, which is a benefit given by the organization for stores that sell large prizes.

Gordiski’s jackpot win was the second largest Connecticut Lottery prize claimed in the past week. A Hartford resident claimed a $4 million jackpot prize from a "$4,000,000 Fortune” Connecticut Lottery ticket, which was claimed on May 1. The ticket was purchased at the Mobil Gas Station on Weston Street in Hartford.


 

© 2025 the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.)
Visit www.nhregister.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Lottery News
The Newton firefighter said he and the other firefighters have an unwritten rule: appearing in media photos or videos means owing colleagues ice cream; now, he’s in for a lot of ice cream
A 41-year-old firefighter decided to “randomly” play the lottery ahead of his shift, and it paid off – literally
“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said
Duane McFarland didn’t believe he had won until he had his wife confirm the ticket