--- title: New York State Lottery Mega Millions Jackpot Won by Retired Principal description: Retired elementary school principal wins the 326 million Mega Millions jackpot which is the largest in New York state history canonical: https://time.com/3665413/mega-millions-jackpot-largest-new-york-state-history/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-13T15:54:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:15:54.689Z og:title: Retired Principal Wins Record $326M Mega Millions Jackpot og:description: Retired elementary school principal wins the 326 million Mega Millions jackpot which is the largest in New York state history og:url: https://time.com/3665413/mega-millions-jackpot-largest-new-york-state-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e3f796d9275e8a/69877994a988ca76096abdc2/mega-millions-lottery-winner.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: mega-millions-lottery-winner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Retired Principal Wins Record $326M Mega Millions Jackpot twitter:description: Retired elementary school principal wins the 326 million Mega Millions jackpot which is the largest in New York state history twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e3f796d9275e8a/69877994a988ca76096abdc2/mega-millions-lottery-winner.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Retired Principal Wins Record $326M Mega Millions Jackpot  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jan 13, 2015 3:54 PM UTC  Harold Diamond and his wife Carol receive their ceremonial check from Yolanda Vega at the Valero gas station in the Town of Wallkill, N.Y., on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. Harold Diamond and his wife Carol receive their ceremonial check from Yolanda Vega at the Valero gas station in the Town of Wallkill, N.Y., on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015.John DeSanto/Times Herald-Record—AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jan 13, 2015 3:54 PM UTC A retired elementary school principal hit the jackpot, winning $326 million in the Mega Millions lottery, the largest in New York state history. It is also “the 29th time a New Yorker has won the top prize on the multi-state mega jackpot game,” [according to](http://nylottery.ny.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/c4/04%5FSB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os%5FjggBC3kDBPE0MLC0dnA09vT0fLQDNvA0dfU%5F2CbEdFALm-TnU!/?PC%5F7%5FSPTFTVI4188AC0IKIA9Q6K0QS0%5FWCM%5FCONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/nysl+content+library/nysl+internet+site/home/your+lottery/news/news+details/%24326+million+mega+millions+jackpot+win+is+largest+in+state+history) the lottery’s website. Harold Diamond, 80, of Westburo, who reportedly served as principal of George L. Cooke Elementary School, bought the ticket on Election Day 2014 at a gas station near Middletown, where he and his wife stopped to wait out a storm. He said at a Jan. 12 press conference that after he heard someone in the area had bought the winning ticket, he turned on local TV, and, “When I saw the last number, I yelled up to my wife, I think we won a few bucks!” He [also said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOtz%5FFuploM&feature=youtu.be) he wanted to use the money to take his wife Carol to Hawaii for their 55th wedding anniversary and, according to the Associated Press, give “back to the local community.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3665413/mega-millions-jackpot-largest-new-york-state-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3665413/mega-millions-jackpot-largest-new-york-state-history/"},"headline":"Retired Principal Wins Record $326M Mega Millions Jackpot","datePublished":"2015-01-13T15:54:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:15:54.689Z","description":"\"I yelled up to my wife, I think we won a few bucks!\"","url":"https://time.com/3665413/mega-millions-jackpot-largest-new-york-state-history/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75e3f796d9275e8a/69877994a988ca76096abdc2/mega-millions-lottery-winner.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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