New York City deli sells $1 million lottery ticket, hopes winner to share the money

The employees at the New Way Deli & Lottery store at 77 East Kingsbridge Road in Fordham Manor, sold a Mega Millions ticket worth more than a million dollars in the hopes that the local winner would return to share his winnings because their shop does not receive a sales bonus.

A million-dollar second-place prize for matching all five numbers without the MegaBall was sold in that shop on Saturday according to the New York Lottery.

“Hopefully, this new winner will come around, take care of me and the other guys,” said Al, a worker at the New Way Deli to the Post.

This is not the first time a winning ticket has been bought at this location. In 2017, a former customer won $1 million in the Powerball and returned to distribute cash to other deli shoppers.

“He came back and blessed everybody. He was giving $500 to random customers, $2,000 to this guy, $5,000 to that guy. He spent around $50,000 just giving money out to people,” Al said.

“We were the ones who told him he won. He was shaking. The guy didn’t believe it. He said, ‘Don’t play me.’ He came back and blessed everybody.”

According to the officials, Mega Millions announced that the grand prize winner in Friday’s $1.33 billion Mega Millions drawing was sold at a Speedway Gas Station in Des Plaines, Illinois. The winning numbers are 13-36-45-57-67, with the Mega Ball being 14.

Harold Mays, Illinois Director of the Lottery said the winner has yet to come forward.

“We have not heard from the winner yet. We don’t know whether or not they even know that they won a prize, so I encourage everybody to check your ticket,” said Mays

“The winner has 12 months from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.”

This is the country’s third-largest jackpot ever. The cash payout option is worth approximately $747 million. The retailer where the ticket was purchased receives a cash bonus of $500,000.

Unlike Illinois, New York requires lottery winners to identify themselves publicly, though they may choose to collect their winnings through a limited-liability corporation.