Larry Martin quietly laid a memo on the counter at Sav on Cigs on Thursday and walked away.
Moments later, 12 employees at the convenience store learned they would get a piece of the $25,000 the store won for selling a winning Lotto South ticket.
"We were shocked," said clerk Mary Dailey. "He gave us a memo and brought the checks out with the memo. He didn't say anything, then he left."
The store had a long-standing policy that if it ever sold a winning ticket, it would share the prize with employees, said Martin, the store's manager, who accepted the $24,992 check from the Kentucky Lottery on Thursday afternoon.
"We kept a little bit for the store, basically for tax purposes," Martin said. "But we are giving the rest to our employees.
Employees' shares varied based on how long they worked there and whether they work full or part time. Full-time workers got about $1,000, while part-timers got about $500.
A group of 25 employees at Wild Flavors in Erlanger won the $12.6 million jackpot after Bobby Joe Hudler bought the ticket at the store May 13. After deciding to take the one-time lump sum, subtracting taxes and splitting it 25 ways, each will receive $177,791.40.
Hudler, of Addyston, who came back to the store Thursday, said he buys tickets there infrequently.
"It depends on the traffic really," he said. "It's just a fluke."
Stores that sell the winning ticket receive a bonus equal to 1 percent of all ticket sales for that jackpot. But not all stores give a portion of the winnings to employees, said Bob Little, a lottery spokesman.
Clerk Judie George said she's glad her store did.
"I think it's amazing. A lot of businesses would not do that," George said. "It makes you feel ... well, it makes you feel great."
BRAVO,
Why is the check for $24,992 instead of 25k?