East Germantown beer distributor talks about selling a nearly perfect Mega Millions ticket

It was a typical Monday morning for the owner’s brother at the Wister Beer Distributor. Or so he thought.

He went to the business located at 5675 Wister St. off Conlyn St. a hour early so he could eat his breakfast and prepare for the day. Then, unexpectedly, the phone rang.

It was a representative from the Pennsylvania Lottery office stating the establishment sold a ticket which hit for  $250,000 in last week’s record-breaking $656 million Mega Millions drawing.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, immediately called his sister, which was a bit earlier than he normally did, so that alarmed her.

When he relayed the message, she thought she was being pranked repeatedly telling him to “stop playing.”

He wasn’t playing.

He gave her the lottery number that showed up on caller ID so she could call and find out for herself.

Winner hasn’t come forward

A woman named Alison verified the information. She said that one lucky customer, who has not yet come forward, had selected the winning numbers: 2, 4, 38 and 46. (The winning combination included 23.)

With that information, the owner was able to count out one regular who came in with a long list of numbers to play and it contained the Mega Ball number 23, which the lucky ticket winner also missed.

The owner thought about all of the customers that came in the past couple of days.

Some regular customers came in multiple times a day before and after work, as well as in between errands.

Some even came in with spare change so they can get a chance to win the record lottery payout, which created small crowds in front of the family-owned business.

It included people from different backgrounds and walks of life who discussed one thing: What they would do if they won the jackpot.

Taking a chance

The owner, who didn’t want to be identified out of fears of robbery, said that she is happy that someone won from her store. (Businesses which sold the overall winning tickets received $500,000; when a ticket wins from $100,000 to $500,000 the vendor receives $500, according to the state lottery office).

The woman said she hopes it will prove that local people can win, which is something that several customers already voiced opinions about when they learned about the drawing.

“If you as a person apply yourself, you can achieve anything,” the owner said. “No matter where you are, there is a chance to win.”

She is unsure whether the numbers were selected through the “quick pick” option or the traditional selection of numbers. However, she said that approximately 65 percent of the sales for that jackpot were “quick pick” option.

On behalf of the entire staff at the beer distributor, the owner congratulated the ticket winner who can claim their winnings in Harrisburg or by calling the number on the back of the ticket.