Man wins lotto by playing Madoff's number

From the Times Ledger:

A 50−year−old Glendale man may be one of the few people in the five boroughs to win money, rather than lose it, from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Ralph Amendolaro, a construction worker who lives in Glendale, recently won the state Lottery’s Numbers game by playing the last three numbers of the disgraced investment adviser’s inmate number.

Amendolaro was inspired to play the last three digits of Madoff’s inmate number — 054 — after seeing his picture and number on the cover of a daily newspaper. He said he placed a $3 bet on the number for three days in a row, beginning March 13, and found out that he won $1,500 on March 15.