Favorite Markets Sells Winning Ticket
DALTON, Ga. -- One of the two winning tickets in Tuesday night's record $390 million Mega Millions jackpot was sold at a Favorite Markets store here, and Calfee Co. of Dalton Inc. president Sam Turner has vowed to continue the chain's tradition of sharing the commission with store employees, according to published reports.
It is estimated that the store commission on the winning ticket will be $25,000, according to an Associated Press report.
Turner told the Dalton Daily Citizen that he's been fielding calls from media all over the country. "What I need to do is tell anybody from the media if they want to go take pictures at the store, they at least need to buy something," he said with a laugh. "They have a good little deli there, so it's a good place to get some lunch."
Reporters, camera operators and producers came from as far away as Chattanooga, Tenn. and Atlanta to visit the Favorite Market at the corner of Abutment Road and Brickyard Road, according to the newspaper. "We're famous today," store supervisor Amanda Arden said to one customer who asked why all of the cameras were there. "Everybody is so excited. I've never seen anything like this. It's a big deal."
This isn't the first time Favorite Markets has gained lottery fame, though. The company sold a winning ticket for a $60 million jackpot several years ago, Turner noted.
Ed Nabors, a 52-year-old truck driver from Rocky Face, Ga., stepped forward Wednesday to claim half of the jackpot -- the richest lottery prize in U.S. history. The previous largest U.S. lottery jackpot was $365 million in 2006, when eight workers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant won the Powerball drawing, according to the Associated Press.
Nabors said he had bought the ticket with his weekly cup of coffee at the c-store.
The other winning ticket in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing was sold at a liquor store in New Jersey, and the holder did not immediately come forward.
The winning numbers were 16-22-29-39-42, with the Mega Ball 20. The odds of hitting the winning combination: 1 in 176 million, the AP reported. Mega Millions tickets are sold in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington state.
It is estimated that the store commission on the winning ticket will be $25,000, according to an Associated Press report.
Turner told the Dalton Daily Citizen that he's been fielding calls from media all over the country. "What I need to do is tell anybody from the media if they want to go take pictures at the store, they at least need to buy something," he said with a laugh. "They have a good little deli there, so it's a good place to get some lunch."
Reporters, camera operators and producers came from as far away as Chattanooga, Tenn. and Atlanta to visit the Favorite Market at the corner of Abutment Road and Brickyard Road, according to the newspaper. "We're famous today," store supervisor Amanda Arden said to one customer who asked why all of the cameras were there. "Everybody is so excited. I've never seen anything like this. It's a big deal."
This isn't the first time Favorite Markets has gained lottery fame, though. The company sold a winning ticket for a $60 million jackpot several years ago, Turner noted.
Ed Nabors, a 52-year-old truck driver from Rocky Face, Ga., stepped forward Wednesday to claim half of the jackpot -- the richest lottery prize in U.S. history. The previous largest U.S. lottery jackpot was $365 million in 2006, when eight workers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant won the Powerball drawing, according to the Associated Press.
Nabors said he had bought the ticket with his weekly cup of coffee at the c-store.
The other winning ticket in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing was sold at a liquor store in New Jersey, and the holder did not immediately come forward.
The winning numbers were 16-22-29-39-42, with the Mega Ball 20. The odds of hitting the winning combination: 1 in 176 million, the AP reported. Mega Millions tickets are sold in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington state.