Two people are probably thinking second place might not be so bad after all, especially when you're about to take home a million dollars.
“Everybody was excited here, everyone was excited,” said cashier Ashir Haidery, as he described the mood of his Bolla Market store on Gerritsen Ave in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
Ashir Haidery came to work thinking it was going to be a normal Saturday. It wasn’t. He learned his store sold one of the two Mega Millions tickets in the city valued at $1 million. These two winners secured the second prize in the drawing. A winner in Michigan won the top prize of $1 billion.
Haidery is a cashier and sells lotto tickets all day long on his shifts.
“I’ll never know if I gave that ticket to that guy let’s see I hope so," Haidery said. “Still waiting for the guy to come here let’s see hope so."
And considering how tough it’s been watching coronavirus plague the city, he’s glad to know someone who went to his store is walking away a winner.
“It’s very good news maybe the guy needed the money or something you never know. Maybe he needed the money and got lucky. Wishing him or her good luck,” Haidery said.
There was also some good fortune in Astoria at Moonlight Deli and Market. This was the store’s largest win in its 17 year history.
“I got surprised I heard someone won from my store I was excited and I was surprised someone got it. I was working here for three, four, years and no one got a million dollars from my store, the highest we saw was 20,000,” employee Mohammed Saeed said.
Both locations have seen many people coming in to buy lottery tickets in hopes some of that good luck will come their way as well, these big wins in the city are definitely a bright spot amidst the tragedy of the pandemic.
Both stores are waiting for the winners to come forward to claim their prizes.