Milton man wins $10 million on Billion Dollar Bonanza lottery scratch ticket

By Todd Feathers, Globe Correspondent

Eric Cherry and his wife got one of the best presents anyone could ask for on Valentine’s Day: $10 million.

The 41-year-old Milton man became the seventh winner of the Massachusetts State Lottery’s Billion Dollar Bonanza game Feb. 14, when he traded in his $20 ticket for the substantial prize, lottery spokeswoman Beth Bresnahan said today.

Cherry, a firefighter at a Boston power plant, chose to receive the money in annual distributions of $350,000 over 20 years. He told lottery officials that he and his wife plan to keep their jobs, after taking their two children on a quick vacation to Aruba, Bresnahan said.

Cherry bought the winning ticket at a Tedeschi Food Shop in Milton, which will receive a $50,000 bonus for selling the ticket.

Bresnahan said Cherry told lottery officials that he couldn’t decide which scratch ticket to buy, so he asked the clerk at the store to pick one for him.