Lucky Lotto Store Owner 'So Happy' For Customer's $1 Million Win

HICKSVILLE, NY – Benjamin Hernandez got quite a shock when he arrived at work Saturday morning at his business Hick's Piccolo Gourmet Delicatessen in Hicksville and learned a $1 million Mega Millions Lotto ticket was sold there.

"I am so happy for the customer," said Hernandez, who owns the deli for close to eight years.

Hernandez said he did not know that the winning ticket was purchased at his store until he turned on News 12 Long Island inside the Levittown Parkway deli.

The lucky ticket matched all five winning numbers — 3, 11, 12, 38, and 43 — but just missed the Mega Ball 15 and a $750 million jackpot. The second-prize winning ticket was a "Quick Pick," meaning the numbers were picked at random by the lottery terminal. The jackpot for next Tuesday night is $850 million, the third largest lottery jackpot ever.

Hernandez said he can't be certain who the lucky customer is, but he has an idea it might be one his regular customers who lives nearby. Customers have been lucky in the past by winning between $100 and $600 playing scratch-offs, but the winning lottery ticket is the largest windfall he has seen to date, Hernandez said.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $2, or $3 with the Megaplier option. Players pick five numbers from 1-70, then pick a Mega Ball number between 1-25. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. The overall chances of winning any prize are 1 in 24. You can also buy tickets from your phone now using a new app.

Ryan Bonner contributed additional reporting to this story.