Hector Torres

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A Passaic County father walked out of MetLife Stadium a millionaire after winning the top prize in the New Jersey Lottery’s “Another Millionaire” second-chance drawing on Sunday, Dec. 1, officials said.

Hector Torres won the $1 million prize during halftime of the New York Jets game against the Atlanta Falcons in East Rutherford, according to lottery officials.

Lottery officials said Torres earned his entry by purchasing Jersey Cash 5 tickets with the XTRA add-on in October. From those entries, 20 finalists were selected and brought to the game for the grand-prize drawing.

Torres told officials he felt something special as soon as the drawing began. “I don’t know why, but right away I felt it,” he said. “It was surreal, being there in the stadium at halftime, all these eyes on you. When it came down to it (the winning number being drawn), I couldn’t believe it. What an amazing feeling.”

Torres, a chief utility lineman with 34 years of service, said the prize will change his family’s life. “My son’s in college. And that’s my hurdle right there, the financial responsibility. I was paying [for college], working a lot of overtime. I know he’s elated, because he knows how hard we’ve been working for him,” he said.

Torres grew up in Queens near Shea Stadium, the Jets’ former home, and said Sunday’s event was unlike anything he had experienced before. “What an amazing feeling, everything was set up so well,” he said, adding that even if he hadn’t won, “it would’ve been a great experience.”

With college costs soon behind him, Torres told officials he can now focus on a future on strong financial footing.