Plainview Celebrities: Doug Siff

Last week, we asked you about , and you answered. So we caught up with a few in recent days, to see where they are and what they're doing. Here's our first report.

Doug Siff, who grew up in Plainview and graduated from Plainview-Old Bethpage High School in 1979, always led a pretty normal life. Siff, who loves Harleys, tattoos, and Ozzy Osbourne, never dreamed that he would become a  celebrity. But on June 28, 1986, Siff experienced a stroke of luck that many can only dream of, winning a lottery jackpot of $2,250,000.

Patch spoke to Siff this week.

Q. So you grew up in Plainview. Can you tell me a little bit about that. What are some of your fondest/least fond memories?

A. We moved from Bellerose, Queens to Plainview in 1964 and lived there until 1995 when I moved to Colorado. The fondest memories would be winning the lottery on June 28, 1986, Seeing a UFO over Plainview when I was about 7 and working the graveyard shift at Crown on Old Country Road for 3 years. You get to meet a lot of strange people at 3 a.m.!

The least would be running out between parked cars when I was a little kid and just missed being run over. I ran into the side of it. The worst was when my best friend died in a car crash on the Bethpage State Parkway in 1984.

Q. Growing up, did you think that you would have the luck/success that you ended up having?

A. I was always a lucky guy. I used to break even a lot...Lose a $20 find another one. With the lottery I was telling all my friends that I knew I was going to win. I just had that feeling. (I had been saying this for two years prior to winning).

Q. How did you choose your numbers for the winning ticket?

A. I hated hearing how people would always play "Birthday" numbers so I came up with my own system using the letters of the alphabet and spelling out words & phrases. A is 1, B is 2, C is 3 and so on. For example is you spelled HARLEY. H is 8 so you play 8, A is 1 so you add that to 8 and play 9, R is 18 so you add that to 9 and play 27, L is 12 so you play 39, E is 5 so you play 44. Y is 25 so you go to 48, the highest number at the time, and start over at the beginning, skipping over numbers you've already played, so the Y would be 23. Sounds simple.

Q. What were doing the moment you realized you won and what went through your mind at that moment?

A. I had been driving a school bus for We Transport out of Hicksville for a few years when on that Sunday morning (June 29) I woke up and sat down at my table to map out the school bus route I was starting on Monday. Hung over and not wanting to drive into Queens I said, "I don't want to work tomorrow...let me check my numbers." I started to circle number after number on one of the games and began screaming "I GOT IT!!!"... My brother, who had been in the other room, came running over saw that I won and started hitting me in the head yelling "You won knucklehead!"...

Word spread and within a few hours beers were flowing. I also went to get my Mom out of work from the factory she was working at. Ozzy Osbourne and Howard Stern each would call me on the phone later that day.

Q. How much did you win, if you don’t mind me asking?

A. $2,250,000. Back then there was no choice, so I would get annuity payments of $70,000 a year for 20 years.

Q. What have been some of the perks of being a lottery winner?

A. Not working and being able to help out people when I could.

Q. How has your life changed since winning the lottery? Any career, lifestyle, or priority changes?

A. I took my Mom out of work, paid off all her bills and bought her a car. I just enjoyed the freedom that I had and rode my Harley whenever I could. After 7 years, I felt the Island was getting to crowded so I moved to a small town high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I still look the same as I did back then except my beard is longer and I now have 30 tattoos.

Q. Do you feel that since winning the lottery, you have gained notoriety as a local celebrity?

A. When I won everything just seem to fly. Ozzy Osbourne invited me out to Chicago to meet him. I was on the front cover of Newsday Part 2 with Ozzy. Howard Stern had me on his Dial-A-Date radio show. Then I appeared on Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. That was a lot of fun. They let me ride my new Harley on stage. I also was on MTV where I was interviewed by China Kantner, Grace Slick's daughter. I got to talk to Ozzy live that day. He was over in England at the time. The next appearance was in December of 1986 on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Just recently I was interviewed by KKTV, a Colorado Springs TV station. They were doing a story on Oprah's last show before she retired. I was telling them about my appearance on Oprah 25 years earlier.

Q. What are you doing now?

A. Still retired and taking things easy. I've had some health problems the last 10 years. I really enjoy the small town I live in and still love riding the Harley and getting tattoos.

Q. Where do you want to be in 10 years?

A. I'd like to be healthy, happy and still smiling. I'd also like to win the Colorado Lottery within the next 10 years.