By: Najla Alexander
Think back to May 1995, when the Yankees called up a rookie from the minors named Derek Jeter. Coolio was topping the charts, and the first “Toy Story” was a few months from being released by a little-known production company called Pixar. That was also when the Eisenhower Exxon in Essex County got its license to sell New Jersey Lottery tickets, according to NJ Lottery officials.
NJ Lottery officials announced that the store, nestled on a busy corner of Eagle Rock Avenue and Eisenhower Parkway in Roseland, not far from a section of the Passaic River that marks the Essex border with Morris County, didn’t have a major prize winner until May 22.
That particular Thursday, a Pick-6 ticket with the numbers 20, 21, 30, 31, 42, and 44 was sold there and matched all six balls drawn to win the $5.9 million jackpot, lottery officials stated.
“Thirty years and we finally got one,” said Jack Atmeh, who owns the store with his business partner and lifetime friend, Robert Wakile. “Now, we can say we’re a lucky store.
The winner has yet to claim the life-changing prize, but retailers still have cause to celebrate now. In fiscal year 2024, the Garden State’s nearly 6,800 retailers earned a total of $214 million in commissions and bonuses, NJ Lottery officials stated.
When a big jackpot, such as Pick-6, is hit, the retailer receives a bonus, lottery officials say. In this case, it is $10,000 for the Eisenhower Edison retailers.
“This is the best part of my job: I get to celebrate with players on their best days, but I also get to meet and celebrate with our partner retailers from all the way up to Sussex County and down to Cape May,” Lottery Deputy Director Marc Marseglia said.
According to NJ Lottery officials, the highest Pick-6 jackpot of all time was $48.9 million, won in Passaic County’s Clifton in 2001.
Other notable recent Pick-6 wins:
· March 28, 2024: $30 million split equally by two players in Morris and Monmouth counties.
· May 13, 2024: $4.5 million in Morris County.
· June 13, 2024: $3 million in Burlington County.
The jackpot is currently $2.3 million heading into tonight’s drawing, lottery officials said.