The Mahwah 7-Eleven has been receiving more than its average influx of customers this week, and store manager Bob Patel believes it is because his store sold a $1 million Powerball ticket.
"I'm like a star in Mahwah now – it's been on the Internet, the news, in newspapers. It's good for business," Patel said about the store's recent good luck.
Patel received the initial news of the winning lottery ticket via a call from the lottery department.
"I was really shocked when I got a call from a woman from the lottery department about the ticket. I showed her all of the documents and it was really our store that sold it," Patel said.
Patel does not know which employee at the store, including himself, might have sold the winning ticket.
"We don't know if it was a regular customer or a passerby in the town," Patel explained.
The winner, however, has not come in to claim his or her $1 million dollars.
"We're waiting in anticipation; the winner has a year to come and claim the prize," Patel said.
Patel said that the lucky winner has not changed his opinion about the lottery.
"I don't buy any lottery tickets; I won't start now," Patel said.
When asked about another recent local lottery winner, Passaic bodega owner Pedro Quezada who won the Powerball jackpot – a total of $338 million dollars, Patel said that he was familiar with the story.
Quezada has reportedly told newspapers that he plans to close down his bodega where he and his son opened early in the morning and closed late at night, which will allow both to pursue other ventures.
"He's a lucky guy [Quezada]. His heart is in the right place, but he needs to be careful with all of that money," Patel said.
Customers of the 7-Eleven store have asked Patel about the sign outside of the store, which advertises that the store sold the winning ticket. Patel claims that one of the best parts of selling the ticket is the publicity and interest the story has brought the store.
"It's nice to give people some hope," Patel concluded.
azabohon@ramapo.edu
