Watch CBS News

New Jersey Man Wins $1 Million On Powerball With Help From His Family

PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Even though the big Powerball winner was in Massachusetts, there were some $1 million tickets sold at seven different locations around the Tri-State area.

CBS2's Steve Overmyer spoke with one of the newly minted millionaires.

At W&R Mini Market in Paterson, New Jersey, the winner had no idea until the ticket was scanned.

"I scanned the ticket for him, and then I looked at the screen, and it said, 'file a claim,' and it just had one and a bunch of zeros," clerk Suzanne Del Jesus said. "And then I printed it out for him, and I handed it to him, and I said, 'you're a winner!'"

"When they told me, 'no, you have a million -- one million dollar,.' I said, 'no, are you serious? Could you check again, please? Just make sure it's the ticket.'" Juan Mendez told Overmyer.

Mendez drives a truck for the U.S. Post Office. Five other family members each gave him a number to use, and he bought the ticket Wednesday night just minutes before closing. Thursday morning, he almost forgot about it.

"I got one more that I bought last night. So I said, 'wait a minute, I have one more,'" he said.

The odds of picking five numbers are about one in 11 million. So you can understand his family's reaction.

"Nobody believed me," Mendez said. "I'm a winner, I got the Powerball. They said, 'ah, come on.'"

He may buy his house and maybe a new car, but he never wanted to be greedy. He also said he likes working at the Post Office and has no plans to quit his job.

"Maybe one day. I don't want too much, I just want a little bit to do something," he said. "And the day came."

He does, however, plan to share his winnings with his family.

Three $1 million winning tickets were sold in New York at a Hudson News in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Chunnu News on 3rd Avenue and 44th Street, and at a Kwik Fill in the town of Cheektowaga, NY, outside Buffalo.

"I'm feeling happy, you know?" said Abdul Choudhury, owner of Chunnu News. "When we have a big winner, the customers are going to come, they're going to play more."

Choudhury said the store says about 70,000 tickets a week, which makes them one of the most active locations in Midtown.

Another $1 million winning ticket was sold at L and K Petroleum on Route 47 in Dorchester, New Jersey.

In Connecticut, a $1 million winning ticket was sold in Litchfield County. A $2 million prize was also sold in Hartford County.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.