A mistakenly sold lottery ticket has earned a New Jersey couple $1 million. State lottery officials say 70-year-old Dante Castillo usually picks his own numbers. But when the Manchester man bought some tickets for last Thursday’s Cash4Life jackpot at a convenience store in Lakewood, the clerk accidentally sold him one Quick Pick ticket.
That ticket proved to be the winner, as it matched the five numbers drawn but not the cash ball.
Castillo and his wife had the option of taking the $1 million prize or getting $1,000 a week for life. The convenience store will receive a $10,000 bonus check from lottery officials for selling the winning ticket.
Cash4Life is played in Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Robin Chauhan, 28, co-owner of the store, said her mother sold the winning ticket to the player, a 70-year-old man who is a regular customer. She said the man usually picks his own numbers for the lottery, but her mother accidentally sold him a quick pick ticket, which turned out to be the winner.
“Money’s not everything but he said he’s very happy about it,” Chauhan told the Asbury Park Press. “He was excited but he had a balance of himself.”
