An Asian supermarket in Queens sold a winning Powerball ticket worth $256 million on Saturday. Upon learning of this fact, the store manager who sold the golden tickets said, “I have lucky hands!”
The New York Lottery says the new millionaire, who won the lottery at Hualien Supermarket on Parsons Boulevard in Flushing, has not yet claimed the big prize.
But Jenny Fang, a 40-year-old employee who sold the tickets, said she couldn’t believe she was the one who gave them away.
“I’ve never sold a winning ticket this big,” she told the Post on Monday. “I have some lucky hands! That’s amazing… it was a complete surprise.”
The win was the first in the state since 2020.
But even as word spread on WeChat, China’s popular messaging and social media app, the lucky buyer remains in the dark.
“I don’t know who bought that ticket. They didn’t come to claim it,” Fang said. “Ninety percent of the people in this neighborhood are Asian, so I think an Asian person bought it.”
Whoever it is, they are in for a pleasant surprise. They will have the choice between a life-changing 30-year payment of $256 million or a pre-tax lump sum payment of $123.5 million.
This is also good news for supermarkets. Other gamblers are already flocking to enjoy Hualien’s extraordinary fortune.
“I heard the news that winning tickets were sold, so I looked up the address and came from the Bronx to buy Powerball and Mega (Millions) tickets,” said Ruben Vasquez, 73.
Vasquez has been buying winning lottery tickets for years, so he might just be lucky.
Still, he picked up two more on Monday, a Powerball and a Mega Millions, after rubbing a red-and-gold hanging ornament with the Chinese character for “luck” printed on it.
“You never know where your luck will take you,” Vazquez said. “I just hope I find it someday. I want to know if my fate is over here as well.”
“I hope I can be one of the lucky ones. You never know.”
