By Ivan Pereira
Will the lucky shopper who purchased Tuesday’s winning $133 million Mega Million lottery ticket please stand upi
That’s the question owners of a Jamaica convenience store would like to find the answer to since the sole ticket was purchased from their shop, according to lottery officials. Dozens of Lotto ticket holders flocked to Shiz Convenience Store at 169-09 Hillside Ave. hours after word came that the multimillion-dollar ticket was purchased there.
“Who is the winner? I don’t know,” said Patel Dilip, a worker at the store who sold the ticket.
The winner has up to a year to claim his or her prize, according to the New York State Lottery’s rule. As of Wednesday afternoon, the winner had not come forth with the ticket.
Longtime shopper and Lotto player Shamo Birson spent the day at her Jamaica home shifting through the 500 lottery tickets that she purchased from Shiz, which will get $10,000 for selling the $133 million ticket. Birson, a 54-year-old Guyanese immigrant, said she buys lottery tickets all the time from the convenient store with the dreams of winning big.
“There are very nice people there,” she said.
The store is located at a busy commuter section. There is a stop for the F train and several Queens and Long Island buses, including the Q30 and Q31, which go to northeast Queens.
Dilip has urged all ticket holders to be thorough before they confirm they are the winner.
“You know, $133 million is a big win. That’s why you have to check the ticket,” he said.
If you have the winning ticket and want to claim the prize, call 518-388-3415 or log onto www.NYLottery.org.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
