Mystery Surrounds Winning $533 Million Mega Millions Ticket In N.J.
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RIVERDALE, N.J. (WCBS-TV) -- The single winning ticket for the fourth largest Mega Millions jackpot in history was sold at a convenience store in New Jersey.
But we still don't know who the lucky winner is. Somewhere in the Garden State right now, a very lucky and mysterious person is a whole lot richer.
"What do they do now? What are their plans? What are they going to do?" Hoboken resident Arlene Lopez said, referring to the questions the winner is probably trying to answer.
New Jerseyans are anxiously waiting to find out who bought the $533 million Mega Millions ticket from the Lukoil gas station in Riverdale. The winner has yet to come forward, but store owner Ameer Krass said he believes it's a store regular.
"Enjoy it. You can do a lot of good for yourself, for those around you," Krass told WCBS-TV's Reena Roy.
"We're like family here. I'm just happy it's one of your regulars, someone, hopefully, that could use the money and that can do good with it," Riverdale Mayor Paul Carelli added.
If the winner chooses the cash option, he or she will receive a little more than $324 million. Others were left just dreaming of that kind of money.
"No, it's not me. I wish!" one person said. "I wouldn't be here working today."
"Oh my God. (I would) go to Florida, get away from this weather," Lopez added.
"Donate to charity and start a new life," another person said.
We do know the store clerks will be going home with some extra cash. On Monday, their boss got a $30,000 check for selling the ticket, and said he is sharing some bucks with them, Roy reported.
"This is life-changing money," Krass said. "I promised my employees before realizing the amount that they were all going to get a bonus, and we're going to keep to that."
As they enjoy that it's only a matter of time before we find out a name. New Jersey state law does not allow winners to stay anonymous, and they have a year to come forward.
The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 303 million.
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