Big Mega Millions jackpot brings big business to Bronx bodegas
Shops get to keep a small piece of the money from every lotto ticket sold.
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Friday night's Mega Millions lottery jackpot of $680 million is the ninth biggest in the history of the game, which bodegas around the Bronx say also means big business for them.
"When (the cashier) told me that the pot was so big, I said let me get an extra ticket," said Nicole White, from Soundview.
White was just one of a line of customers making their way into 912 Jairo Deli Grocery in Soundview.
"When the lottery's like that, it's good for us because you know, everybody's crazy, and we get more customers," laughed Jairo Troncoso, who owns the store.
Shops get to keep a small piece of the money from every lotto ticket sold, and at $5 each for Mega Millions, it adds up, so Troncoso says his staff makes sure every customer knows when there is a high jackpot.
"$500 million! $600 million! $700 million! We tell everybody," he said.
But Troncoso also says the gains go beyond that, since "when the people come to buy a ticket, sometimes, they get other stuff - juice, beer, sandwich, whatever, you know."
While that means it would be good for business if nobody wins and the jackpot keeps growing, Troncoso says he is rooting for somebody from his story to hit it.
Partially, because the lotto sends the store that sold the winning ticket a percentage, and also, Troncoso says, "maybe (the customer) comes by and gives me a tip or something."
Troncoso says at least so far, the biggest prize he has sold was a $300,000 scratch-off ticket.
