HOMECREST \u2014 Does this Brooklyn card store have the lotto mojo?<\/p>\n
Three winning third-place Powerball tickets, each paying $50,000, were bought at the same store in Homecrest for the same Powerball drawing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The three tickets were purchased at the Hallmark store at 1619 Ave. U (officially named 1619 SRS Corp.), according to New York Lottery.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God, three tickets?\u201d the shocked store owner, Jitendra Prajapati, told the Brooklyn Eagle on Thursday when informed of the triple win. \u201cThis is a lucky place.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the second time someone has won $50,000 at the store, but the previous winner in 2017 bought just one ticket, he said.<\/p>\n
Prajapati said he did not know who bought the tickets, and whether it was one purchaser or more. \u201cThey haven\u2019t come forward yet,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen they do, I hope they bring me a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacquie Slater, director of communications for the New York State Gaming Commission, which runs the New York Lottery, confirmed the triple win, and said the organization was also still in the dark about who bought the tickets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not uncommon for an individual to purchase multiple tickets with the same number combinations,\u201d she told the Eagle. \u201cWe do not know the identity of the winners until the tickets are claimed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In total, there were 52 third-prize winners across the country during this jackpot run, she said. One was sold in Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side and one in Medina, which is in western New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n