The Chester, N.J., mansion of 37-year-old Phin Suy, below, who grew up in a Cambodian town without paved roads and was making $40,000 a year when he became the N.Y. Lottery's biggest winner.
BY MIKE JACCARINO and RICH SCHAPIRO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Saturday, February 16th 2008, 4:00 AM
Giancarli for News
The Chester, N.J., mansion of 37-year-old Phin Suy, below, who grew up in a Cambodian town without paved roads and was making $40,000 a year when he became the N.Y. Lottery's biggest winner.
Watts/News
Hours before the winning numbers - 7, 11, 26, 30, 53 and Mega Ball 14 - were announced Friday night for the estimated $179 million Mega Millions jackpot, the biggest winner in New York lottery history offered some advice to the next instant millionaire.
"Spend it wisely because, you know, easy in, easy out," Phin Suy, 37, told the Daily News outside of his New Jersey mansion.
Suy was an unassuming Central Park landscaper in 2003 when he was the lone winner of a $128 million Mega Millions prize. He spent $5 to buy the lottery tickets at a shop in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
After taxes, the payout came to $75.3 million. He got it all in a lump sum.
It was a mind-boggling sum for the humble man who grew up in a war-ravaged Cambodian town bereft of paved roads.
He had immigrated to the U.S. in 1985, arriving in New York as a 13-year-old. He had never before seen a skyscraper or snowflakes.
In 1990, he began caring for the gardens at Central Park, earning $40,000 a year.
He eventually married and had two kids, Sapphrina, now 10, and Sayoon, now 7.
And then, in 2003, his numbers were called and his luck - and life - changed dramatically.
"It's more money than I can count," Suy said at the time. "All I need right now is to take care of my family. I want them to be happy forever."
He's now living the high life inside a two-story brick palace in the exclusive town of Chester in Morris County. Not surprisingly, the property is extremely well-manicured.
Suy declined to discuss the details of his new life, saying only that he makes money in real estate.
He did offer some advice to all of those dreamers who won't win a cent of the $179 million jackpot.
"Keep playing," he said, decked out in an inexpensive pair of Dockers pants and a golf visor. "Keep the dream alive."
rschapiro@nydailynews.com
Saturday, February 16th 2008, 4:00 AM
Giancarli for News
The Chester, N.J., mansion of 37-year-old Phin Suy, below, who grew up in a Cambodian town without paved roads and was making $40,000 a year when he became the N.Y. Lottery's biggest winner.
Watts/News
Hours before the winning numbers - 7, 11, 26, 30, 53 and Mega Ball 14 - were announced Friday night for the estimated $179 million Mega Millions jackpot, the biggest winner in New York lottery history offered some advice to the next instant millionaire.
"Spend it wisely because, you know, easy in, easy out," Phin Suy, 37, told the Daily News outside of his New Jersey mansion.
Suy was an unassuming Central Park landscaper in 2003 when he was the lone winner of a $128 million Mega Millions prize. He spent $5 to buy the lottery tickets at a shop in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
After taxes, the payout came to $75.3 million. He got it all in a lump sum.
It was a mind-boggling sum for the humble man who grew up in a war-ravaged Cambodian town bereft of paved roads.
He had immigrated to the U.S. in 1985, arriving in New York as a 13-year-old. He had never before seen a skyscraper or snowflakes.
In 1990, he began caring for the gardens at Central Park, earning $40,000 a year.
He eventually married and had two kids, Sapphrina, now 10, and Sayoon, now 7.
And then, in 2003, his numbers were called and his luck - and life - changed dramatically.
"It's more money than I can count," Suy said at the time. "All I need right now is to take care of my family. I want them to be happy forever."
He's now living the high life inside a two-story brick palace in the exclusive town of Chester in Morris County. Not surprisingly, the property is extremely well-manicured.
Suy declined to discuss the details of his new life, saying only that he makes money in real estate.
He did offer some advice to all of those dreamers who won't win a cent of the $179 million jackpot.
"Keep playing," he said, decked out in an inexpensive pair of Dockers pants and a golf visor. "Keep the dream alive."
rschapiro@nydailynews.com
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