A machine prints out a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chino Hills, California. AFP/Ringo Chiu
LOS ANGELES — The odds of winning this week’s American lottery prize are less than one in 300 million — but one “lucky” convenience store outside Los Angeles is already counting his winnings.
A sign above the counter at the otherwise modest shop in Chino Hills, California proclaims itself the ‘LUCKIEST 7-ELEVEN IN THE WORLD’, six years after selling a winning ticket for the biggest jackpot in the history of the American lottery.
As the nationwide Mega Millions prize again tops $1 billion, patrons from all over lined up on Thursday, hoping lightning would strike twice.
“It’s the lucky store, so hopefully it will be lucky for me too,” said Vish Josai.
In January 2016, a winning ticket was purchased from the store by a customer who shared around $1.6 billion with two other lucky people who had also picked the six correct numbers elsewhere in the country.
For store owner Balbir Atwal, who has owned the store for nearly three decades, the 2016 victory marked a turning point.
Now, “every time the jackpot goes up, a lot of my neighbors come” to buy tickets, Atwal said.
A sign above the counter of the otherwise modest shop in Chino Hills, California proclaims itself the “LUCKIEST 7-ELEVEN IN THE WORLD”, six years after selling a winning ticket for the biggest jackpot in the history of the american lottery
“Even people from other cities come here – people even come from Las Vegas to gamble here.”
“A lot of people go to Disneyland, and they (also) come here just to see this place,” he added, referring to the giant amusement park and resort just 20 miles from his store. .
Customers who came specifically to buy lottery tickets usually end up buying other goods as well, increasing its profits.
Yet despite his shop’s track record of handing out mega-prizes, the digital sign displaying the current jackpot doesn’t have enough numbers to cope with.
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