Lowell store hopes for another lottery winner after selling $294M Mega Millions ticket in 2004
LOWELL -- Powers Wine and Liquor in Lowell is ready for another winner. Lottery players still flock there because, nearly 20 years ago, the store sold the highest winning Mega Millions ticket in Massachusetts history.
"Fifty and 100 those kinds of tickets. They spend $200, $300 at the same time," cashier Eva Islam described to WBZ-TV.
In 2004, Powers Wine and Liquor sold a $294 million winning ticket.
Right now, the Mega Millions jackpot is more than $1 billion. The cash payout on that grand prize would be around $648 million.
Eva said they've been busy selling tickets since the prize hit $800 million.
"I come here every day and I told my sister yesterday she said play so I said I promise I'll play; so I'm here to play," said daily lottery player Judy Ferrell.
The store was renovated last year so a whole section could be dedicated to the lottery. Customers can come and watch the numbers to see if they're a winner.
"The 294 million, that helped us a lot. People know this store is lucky. But it's not just 294 million, we sell a couple -- four or five times -- one million dollars," said Eva.
This is only the third time the jackpot has crossed the one billion dollar threshold in the game's two-decade history.
But Eva believes they're going to get lucky again.