New Jersey Lottery presents retailer with check, whose clerk hints at identity of winner
Includes video report
By Kate Northrop
On the day the New Jersey Lottery presented the retailer that sold the winning ticket for a $221 Powerball jackpot with a commission check, a clerk at the store asserted that the winner is a regular customer who frequently plays the lottery.
The winner of the $221 million Powerball jackpot drawn on Mon., June 10, 2024 may not have officially come forward to claim the prize yet, but a store employee says he thinks he knows who it may be.
On Monday, the New Jersey Lottery held an in-person event to present Preet Food Mart on Chews Landing Road in Lindenwold with a bonus commission check for $30,000 for selling the jackpot-winning ticket. That ticket was the only Powerball jackpot winning ticket from the June 10, 2024 drawing, Lottery Executive Director James Carey announced.
Preet Food Mart owner Tejinder Singh said he was in bed when he got the call from the Lottery that his store had sold the only winning ticket in the country for the $221 million Powerball jackpot, he told CBS News. The call shook him wide awake.
The money from the commission will help support their four children and extended family, including relatives overseas in India. Singh said he'll also spoil his wife, suggesting to interviewers that some shopping sprees and a vacation may be in order.
The Singhs' dedication and hard work up until this point make the win even more special. In 1996, they moved from India to the United States and both worked as convenience store clerks for ten years. They worked until they were able to purchase their own convenience store. 30 years later, they own five different stores, including the one that sold the jackpot-winning ticket.
We may never learn the identity of the jackpot winner since New Jersey allows lottery winners to claim prizes anonymously.
However, Preet Food Mart clerk Harish Patel shed some light on who he believes the winner to be and claims he sold the winning ticket directly to him. He's been selling lottery tickets for 30 years and has even sold tickets worth $3,000, $30,000, and $77,000, but this is his biggest sale yet.
"He's a regular customer," Patel told Fox 29 Philadelphia, describing him as a "quiet and nice guy." He also revealed to the Daily News that he believes the winner is a school bus driver.
The winner is supposedly an avid lottery player as well, spending about "$60 a day," Patel added.
Patel shared some advice for other hopeful lottery players vying for their own jackpot, which was to play with a Quick Pick.
"Most people win with a Quick Pick," he said at the press conference.
Both the jackpot and $30,000 bonus commission are subject to federal and state taxes. According to website USA Mega's Powerball Jackpot Analysis, should the winner take the $104.7 million cash option of the prize, they would receive $54.7 million after all taxes are paid.
"It is thrilling to be able to congratulate another life changing winner this year in New Jersey!" Carey said in a press release. "Fortune has smiled upon our players and this prize now becomes the tenth largest jackpot ever won in the state, and the biggest in South Jersey since 2013! We encourage the jackpot winner to immediately sign the back of the ticket, make a copy of both sides and put it in a safe place. The Lottery has a Winner's Guide on our website at NJLottery.com and we encourage the winner to read it before reaching out to Lottery officials at 1-800-222-0996 to file a claim for this significant jackpot prize," Carey said.
The winning numbers for the Powerball drawing on June 10, 2024 were 3, 10, 33, 58, and 59, with Powerball number 9. The Power Play number was 2.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
This marks the second largest jackpot won in New Jersey in 2024. The biggest jackpot won in the state was the $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot won on March 26. That winner has not come forward to make the claim yet. Lottery winners in New Jersey have one year from the draw date to claim prizes, giving the jackpot winner until next March to come forward.
The next Powerball annuity jackpot estimate for the drawing on Wed., June 12 was reset to its starting point of $20 million after one ticket in New Jersey won the $221 million jackpot on Mon., June 10.
Powerball is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.
Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com). The USA Mega website provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.
VIDEO: Watch the report
Enjoy your winnings.
most curious indeed......
congrats 2 the winner
How does a school bus driver have $21,600 in yearly disposable income to buy lottery tickets every day at $60/day?
Assuming he makes $50k a year and takes home $35k, he is spending 60% of his income just on lottery tickets.
It paid off for this one person, but how many others out there are spending half their income and not win?
I wondered this too. Maybe the clerk meant to say "$60 a day" for every day he purchases lottery tickets? As in $60 a week if he only plays once per week?
The bus driver could already have a retirement income from another career or be the recipient of a trust fund. The bus driving job could get him out of the house and be his "fun money" to spend how he wants. Lets see if this astute clerk is correct in his prediction.
Congrats to the jackpot winner(s),whoever it is.
Pure speculation on the part of the store clerk. Part of wishing to remain anonymous is the store clerk respecting the winners privacy, and not speculating publicly on who the winner may be.
My sentiments exactly. Especially if they have a self service lotto machine, he'd never know how much he/she spends daily.
I find $420/week spent on the lottery is suspect, but I will spend that in one few hour outing @ the casino. Keep telling myself just once spend several hundred on the lotto but never do. The odds suck either way but lately it has been slightly better with the one armed bandit.
maybe he made up all those details to throw people off the trail, in which case he is a good clerk and not a bad one.
More speculation LOL
Someone please call Dave Ramsey - he is worried about people that spend $5 a day on their coffee.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
like I say before they have a 2nd prize winner too lottery is such a ripped off one winner again all that money like the mega few months ago a billion dollars one winner too!
They were likely playing the lottery as a second source of income. Remember, no one in New Jersey has ever purchased a losing ticket, it's just not possible.
If I played 60 dollars day I be broke no way he was playing 60 dollars day 🤪
If he was spending 60 dollars a day, he may have won THOUSANDS of dollars.
That would afford him to wager 60 dollars a day.
The store owner said he sold tickets that were 3,000, 33,000, and 77,000 dollar winners.
Maybe one of those tickets were bought by the same guy.
With all the excitement, news crews, cameras rolling, and reporters pressuring you to get a story, it's easy to forget that.
"How does a school bus driver have $21,600 in yearly disposable income to buy lottery tickets every day at $60/day?"
By winning thousands in smaller prizes before hitting the big one.
expected ROR per $ on lotteries (total prizes paid divided by total revenue from sales) is about 66 cents/$ (2/3rds)
So, spending $60/day.. He would, on average, expect to lose about $7200/yr...
How much does a School Bus Driver make in New Jersey? The average School Bus Driver salary in New Jersey is $42,162 as of May 28, 2024, but the range typically falls between $34,044 and $51,387. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.
Advertised $221M and finally just got $55M...What a shame on US lottery...
Wow, Not a bad income for driving kids to and from school.
Especially if he/she are retired as CDanaT mentioned above.
I mean once you retire, it is good to stay active doing something
That's the way the US lotteries work.. Hype up the expected value of an annuity that you could buy with the "cash on hand" value to get public interest.. and then tax it as the annuity is paid out..
OR
Take the actual cash on hand and tax that.. leaving, as in this case, US$55m (and maybe less if that is just counting the federal withholding tax)
Meanwhile, current EuroMillions is at about US$186.3m. An American winning that would have to pay about US$69m.. leaving only US$117.3m (Federal at 37%, no state tax in calculation)
As a kiwi, i would get to pocket the whole US$186.4m
And be completely anonymous...
As you know, gambling is all about the unexpected. Playing against the odds and winning unexpectedly.
If the guy does spend $60 a day on lottery tickets, it is most likely on other lottery games as well. Powerball numbers are drawn 3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. In most states there is a lottery draw game 7 days a week so, it is possible to spend $60 a day on lottery tickets