The owner of a small convenience store in a coal mining town in western Maryland never expected to sell the winning ticket of the state’s …
The owner of a small convenience store in a coal mining town in western Maryland never expected to sell the winning ticket of the state’s largest lottery prize ever — the $731 million Powerball jackpot. But Coney Market, a convenience store in Lonaconing in Allegany County, did just that, Maryland Lottery announced Thursday. The store will receive a $100,000 cash bonus from the state for selling the ticket of the fifth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. “We’re all excited. The phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning,” said Richard Ravenscroft, owner of the Coney Market, noting that the odds for selling the winning ticket were very, very low. (The odds for buying the winning ticket are about 292 million to 1.) Mr. Ravenscroft, who bought Coney Market about five or six years ago, said he plans to share the wealth with his 11 store employees. He also would like to use the money to install a full kitchen in the store so that he can expand on selling fresh meals. He said he doesn’t know who bought the winning ticket, whether it was a local or someone just passing through.
