Deb Redding joked with a man buying lottery tickets at the customer service counter at New Oxford Shurfine Market on Monday afternoon.
"I think you might win," she said.
It wouldn't be a stretch. Since 2002, two people have now become big winners after buying lottery tickets at the store along Route 30.
Most recently, luck was with Hanover resident Brenda Gaydos. She won one of five $1 million top prizes from the Pennsylvania Lottery's July 7 Millionaire Raffle drawing, lottery officials announced.
Gaydos could not be reached for comment, but lottery officials said she indicated she did not wish to speak to the media.
Gaydos and the other four top winners — who are from Palmyra, Philadelphia, Leechburg and Harrison Valley — each will receive about $750,000 after 25 percent in federal taxes is withheld, said lottery spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell.
For Redding, who has been a store manager for 27 years at Lynn's Market, which does business as New Oxford Shurfine, the news was exciting.
Especially since the store sold a winning Cash 5 ticket in December 2001. At that time, Jim Healey, of New Oxford, received about $174,000 after splitting the jackpot with a Pittsburgh woman who also matched the numbers. Store officials first learned of the recent win when Gaydos came into the store two days after the drawing, saying she had won, Redding said.
"I didn't believe it at first," she said.
Redding said Gaydos, a regular customer at the store, had purchased two of the $20 raffle tickets — one at the Shurfine and one from a business in Spring Grove.
"We weren't sure which ticket she had actually won on," Redding said.
Store officials weren't getting their hopes up yet. It wasn't until lottery officials released the names of the top prize-getters Friday that Redding knew Gaydos' winning ticket came from her store.
Each store where the top-prize winning tickets were purchased will receive a $5,000 selling bonus from the Pennsylvania Lottery. It can be spent however store officials desire. As of Monday, Shurfine officials did not have any plans on how they would use the money.
This month's Millionaire Raffle drawing was the fourth installment of the game since it was introduced in December 2005.
The fortuitous 07-07-07 not only garnered the attention of many couples who wanted to get married on a day considered lucky, but also the attention of lottery officials who launched the Millionaire Raffle to coincide with the date.
"Seven is a favorite number among lottery players so we decided to take advantage of the date," Brassell said.
Lottery officials awarded a total of 7,777 prizes from a pool of 625,000 tickets that were sold between May 29 and July 6.
Gaydos wasn't the first local winner of the Millionaire Raffle.
In January last year, a Conewago Township family won $1 million in the same game after purchasing a ticket at Rosie's Restaurant. Jerry Sneeringer, his wife Pat, his daughter Terri and her husband Joe Neiderer, all chipped in to buy the ticket at the New Oxford eatery, which is up the street from the New Oxford Shurfine.
I hope Mrs. Redding (the raffle ticket winner) steps forward and doesn't have financial problems later in life.