Mega Millions tickets worth $2M, $4M sold at Manya Cards and Gifts in Seaford
!["We used to kid around [saying], ‘This is a lucky...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AMGFkMTc3NDItZDZlNC00%3AMTUxNmQ3OTYtZjVhYy00%2Flimega250417_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
"We used to kid around [saying], ‘This is a lucky store,’ but now we prove it." said Rocky Patel, manager at Manya Card and Gifts in Seaford, on Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Every now and then, there is a 29th day in February, a frigid summer day, or a four-leaf clover that sprouts from the ground.
Another curiosity happened on Tuesday when two Mega Millions tickets that were sold at Manya Cards and Gifts in Seaford were drawn as second-place winners. One of the tickets was worth $2 million while the other was worth $4 million. No ticket for the $96 million jackpot was sold, lottery officials said.
"I was shocked," said Rocky Patel, the store’s general manager and the likely seller of the tickets. Patel later said: "We used to kid around [saying], ‘This is a lucky store,’ but now we prove it."
No winner has come forward yet, but the individual or people who bought the tickets have a year from the Tuesday drawing to do so. The New York State Gaming Commission said it’s unclear whether the tickets were purchased by one or more people.
Still, Brad Maione, a spokesman for the New York State Gaming Commission, said in an email, "It is not uncommon for players to purchase the same numbers more than once for a draw."
"For games with a bonus ball, like Mega Millions, Powerball and Cash4Life, players will play the same base numbers and then select a different bonus number for each play. This results in multiple second tier wins on the same ticket or different tickets at the same location — usually the same player," Maione said.
For example, a Cash4Life winner in 2023 took home the jackpot as well as three second-tier prizes, he said.
Bruce Torff, a Hofstra University professor of educational psychology who also teaches statistics, said the more tickets a location sold the greater the chances it would sell a winning ticket.
"It seems extremely unlikely to have two winners from a single location," he said in a phone interview. "That location would appear to be a lucky place, and therefore a place to go buy tickets."
But Torff said that line of thinking could be misleading and that there was no lucky location.
"You might as well buy your tickets wherever its convenient," he said.
Every now and then, there is a 29th day in February, a frigid summer day, or a four-leaf clover that sprouts from the ground.
Another curiosity happened on Tuesday when two Mega Millions tickets that were sold at Manya Cards and Gifts in Seaford were drawn as second-place winners. One of the tickets was worth $2 million while the other was worth $4 million. No ticket for the $96 million jackpot was sold, lottery officials said.
"I was shocked," said Rocky Patel, the store’s general manager and the likely seller of the tickets. Patel later said: "We used to kid around [saying], ‘This is a lucky store,’ but now we prove it."
No winner has come forward yet, but the individual or people who bought the tickets have a year from the Tuesday drawing to do so. The New York State Gaming Commission said it’s unclear whether the tickets were purchased by one or more people.
Still, Brad Maione, a spokesman for the New York State Gaming Commission, said in an email, "It is not uncommon for players to purchase the same numbers more than once for a draw."
"For games with a bonus ball, like Mega Millions, Powerball and Cash4Life, players will play the same base numbers and then select a different bonus number for each play. This results in multiple second tier wins on the same ticket or different tickets at the same location — usually the same player," Maione said.
For example, a Cash4Life winner in 2023 took home the jackpot as well as three second-tier prizes, he said.
Bruce Torff, a Hofstra University professor of educational psychology who also teaches statistics, said the more tickets a location sold the greater the chances it would sell a winning ticket.
"It seems extremely unlikely to have two winners from a single location," he said in a phone interview. "That location would appear to be a lucky place, and therefore a place to go buy tickets."
But Torff said that line of thinking could be misleading and that there was no lucky location.
"You might as well buy your tickets wherever its convenient," he said.
Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.
Late day care payments ... Supporting families with two moms ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Late day care payments ... Supporting families with two moms ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
