Mega win comes from city store

Monday, June 05, 2006 posted 11:28 AM EDT

NEW BRUNSWICK — When lottery officials called to say that Krauszer's in New Brunswick sold the only winning ticket for Friday night's $47 million Mega Millions jackpot, store owner Atul J. Tijoriwala thought it might be a prank.

"I was trying to figure whether someone was playing around or what," he said yesterday. "Then they said, "No, it's true.' I was like, "Wow! That's something.' "

The jackpot winner has not come forward, a New Jersey Lottery Commission spokesman said Saturday. No other details were publicized yesterday.

For Tijoriwala, the details of the sale were unclear.

"I don't know whether I sold it or my employee," said Tijoriwala, who said he has owned the Bayard Street business for about a year.

Retailers who sell a top-prize-winning Mega Millions ticket get a $10,000 bonus, according to the state's lottery Web site.

Tijoriwala said this experience is more exciting than in April when he sold a $225,000 Jersey Cash 5 ticket.

"I want to congratulate this person," he said of the mysterious Mega Millions winner. "I want to hug him. It's very exciting. To win this $47 million, it's like a dream come true. The lifestyle of that person will change.

The winning numbers were: 3, 10, 18, 36 and 38. The Mega Ball number was 41.

There were three second-prize winners in Friday night's drawing, matching five numbers but not the Mega Ball number to win $250,000. There were also 25 $10,000 winners who matched four numbers plus the Mega Ball number.

Mega Millions is played in 12 states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

The last time a New Jerseyan won the Mega Millions jackpot was in September, when Harold and Helen Lerner of Rutherford won $258 million.

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