San Mateo store sells winning ticket matching 5 of 6 Powerball numbers

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- Gautam Patel had been waiting on a day like March 28, 2019 for 25 years.

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ABC7 News was there as the Centerwood Liquors owner opened the doors of his now "extra lucky" store.

Centerwood Liquors has experienced some smaller wins in the past, but someone's Powerball ticket from their store just hit five of the six winning numbers. The customer will collect nearly $3 million.

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Gautam and his wife Tina didn't purchase lottery tickets.

"Yesterday I didn't play," Gautam said. "Not at all." When asked if he regretted it, Tina said "yes," before her husband could finish saying "no."

At this point, Tina is hoping one of their regulars takes home the price. She was the one who answered the phone about the good news late Wednesday night. An eager customer called the store let them know they sold a winning ticket.

"Oh, I was so excited... he said, 'One of your stores matched five numbers," and I said, 'Say again?'" Tina said.

The Patels were full of joy on Thursday morning. They're living out their American dream.

The couple moved to the United States from India in the 1980's and started their store from the ground up in San Mateo 25 years ago. They said all they've wanted is a million dollar banner for the store front.

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"I'm happy because we sold the million dollar ticket," Gautam said. "We need that banner, so we're going to have that banner finally."

The fact the Patels aren't bothered if they get commission or not speaks volumes.