As the Mega Millions jackpot tops $500,000 and Powerball at a kool $470 million, it’s already been a lucky January for some PA Lottery players, especially in and around Philadelphia.
While retailers handle much of the lottery, there is also the option to play many lottery games online.
As a result of the pandemic, iLottery games have surged.
Big wins in the Philadelphia burbs
Meanwhile, a Powerball ticket worth $1 million was sold Wednesday at the Sunoco A Plus Mini Market in Wynnewood, Montgomery County. The ticket matched all five white balls drawn, 01-20-22-60-66. The store, located at 330 E. Lancaster Ave., will earn a $5,000 bonus for the ticket.
In Chester County, a $3 million-winning scratch-off was sold at the Thorndale Exxon & Tiger Mart, 3727 Lincoln Highway East. The seller gets a $10,000 bonus. The $3,000,000 Money Millionaire is a $30 game that offers top prizes of – you guessed it – $3 million.
A second $3 million scratch-off in the same game was also sold in the same county, at Fine Wine & Good Spirits, 215 Lancaster Ave., Malvern. That seller also gets a $10,000 bonus.
More lottery wins in Philly
Two lucky players hit for the top $1,000,000 Extreme Cash Scratch-Off in Philadelphia. One was sold at Commissary Food Market, 5255 Ridge Ave., another at a Wawa at 3341 Grant Ave. The $1,000,000 Extreme Cash is a $20 game that offers a top prize of $1 million. The PA lottery retailers each get a $5,000 bonus.
Additional big prizes hit in other regions of the state, too. They include:
- A $1 million Merry Money Scratch Off sold in Monroe County
- A Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $1.91 million sold in Lehigh County.
- A Magnificent Millions ticket worth $1 million sold in Northumberland County.
- A Magnificent Millions ticket worth $1 million sold in Westmoreland County.
- A $1 million jackpot-winning Cash 5 ticket sold in Beaver County matched all five balls drawn, 07-16-21-23-27.
Not everyone who thought they were lucky won in the end
A former employee of an Acme grocery in Doylestown, Bucks County, must return a winning $4.15 million PA Match 6 ticket that she claimed last year from the store’s pile of discarded “mistake tickets.”
In December, a PA Superior Court ruling determined she could not claim the lottery winnings because Acme held a valid property interest in the “mistake ticket.” The decision affirmed a previous trial court ruling issued in November 2019.
In March of 2019, a customer at the Doylestown store asked to purchase five PA Match 6 tickets for $2 for each set of numbers. The customer then rejected them and requested five different tickets.
Acme’s policy is to place printed “mistake tickets” in a pile later reconciled with the Pennsylvania Lottery as part of a weekly balance covering all tickets generated by the store’s terminal, including those sold and not sold to customers.
The employee in question took $10 from her purse and rang up a transaction for the same price as the customer’s purchase of the tickets. She was still on the clock and never consulted with anyone at Acme about purchasing the mistake ticket. She signed the back of the ticket and submitted it to the Lottery.
Security footage revealed the incident.
The company filed a complaint in April of 2019. The winnings went into escrow, pending resolution in court. A judge scoffed at her claim to rightfully hold the ticket. On appeal, the ruling stands.
