RUNNEMEDE – Someone who bought a winning lottery ticket here didn’t just pick the right numbers.
He also chose the right game.
The lucky player won the Cash 5 jackpot — a whopping $758,235 —- by matching all five numbers in Monday’s drawing, according to the New Jersey Lottery.
A Runnemede shop, Smoker’s Outlet, will receive a $2,000 bonus for selling the $1 ticket.
Less fortunate were 16 players across the state who picked five white balls correctly —but missed one — in Monday’s Pick-6 drawing.
Those tickets paid only $1,343, although the prize tripled to $4,029 for two tickets purchased with the $1 XTRA multiplier.
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Reshma Dave, who operates Smoker’s Outlet, said the ticket’s buyer came to her shop to report his winning numbers on Tuesday morning.
“He was really excited,” she said.
Dave said the ticket was the biggest winner sold by her store, which she’s operated for the past two years on the 100 block of West Clements Bridge Road.
“It’s my wish come true,” said Dave. “I always say to God, ‘Have someone win a big lottery from this store.”
While Dave wanted no reward from her customer, she did ask him to donate in gratitude to her Hindu temple, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Carnegie Plaza in Cherry Hill.
“I pray for the customers. I always pray for the customers,” said Dave.
“My God, he listened.”
Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
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