You are reading

Astoria Smoke Shop That Sold $1 Million Lottery Ticket Sees a Big Surge in Business

High Rollers Smoke Vape & Convenience, at 33-22 21st Street in Astoria, sold the second-prize ticket (Photo: Christina Santucci)

Jan.24, 2021 By Christina Santucci

An Astoria convenience and smoke store that sold a $1 million lottery ticket has been seeing a boom in business this weekend from customers hoping the shop will also bring them luck.

“I never thought selling the winning ticket would bring so many people in,” said clerk Saadain Shabbir, 18, at High Rollers Smoke Vape & Convenience. “They usually say it’s the lucky place.”

The shop, located at 33-22 21st St., sold the ticket that scored second prize in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing.

The winning ticket was sold in Michigan and that prizewinner nabbed the $1.05 billion jackpot – or a $776.6 million lump sum –  the second-largest prize in Mega Millions history, officials said in a statement.

Shabbir said the Astoria vape shop had been busy leading up to Friday’s drawing. “The jackpot was $1 billion, so who wouldn’t want that,” he said.

The second-prize ticket sold in Astoria was one of 10 runner-up tickets sold across the country. There was one other New York store that sold a second prize ticket– Bolla Market in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

Second-prize ticket holders can choose between $1 million in long-term payments or a $633,040 lump sum.

Saadain Shabbir works at High Rollers Smoke Vape & Convenience, where a Mega Millions ticket worth $1 million was sold (Photo: Christina Santucci)

So far, the Queens winner has not come forward to claim the prize, according to a spokesperson for the New York Lottery.

Shabbir said he hopes that the winner visits the shop. “If they do, I will congratulate them,” he said.

The store has printed and hung signs on the front door and the cash register about the $1 million ticket.

One customer using the ATM in the shop Sunday morning laughed when asked about the winner. “It’s great for whoever won it. I wish it was me,” she joked.

The New York Lottery spokesperson also confirmed that J&T Supermarket, at 117-31 Farmers Blvd. in St. Albans, sold a Take 5 ticket worth $38,486.

A sign on the front door of High Rollers Smoke Vape & Convenience notifies customers of the $1 million winning ticket (Photo: Christina Santucci)

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Twenty people indicted in Queens-based $4.6M vehicle theft ring after three-year probe: DA

Twenty individuals were indicted and variously charged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal cars in Queens, throughout New York City and its suburbs, following a three-year investigation by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, the NYPD, and the New York State Police dubbed “Operation Hellcat,” into the criminal enterprise based in Queens.

Some of the vehicles were stolen from owners’ driveways, some with the keys or key fobs inside. The stolen vehicles were often sold through advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The defendants are charged in nine separate indictments for a total of 373 counts, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday.

Masked gunman robs Total Wireless store in Flushing, steals $6K: NYPD

Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are looking for a masked gunman who pulled off an armed robbery at a cell phone store on the night of Monday, May 5.

The suspect entered the Total Wireless shop located in the old Hua Cheng Restaurant at 41-19 Kissena Blvd., across the street from the Queens Public Library branch, just before 7 p.m. He approached the counter, pulled out a firearm, and threatened the 27-year-old woman who was working the night shift, police said Wednesday.