What happens if you win a big Lottery prize? Your name is public record, as is the name and location of the retailer that sold you the winning ticket, the date you won and of course, the amount. For most Lottery draw games, you have 180 days to claim your prize; however, if you win the Powerball or Mega Millions, you have a year to claim your prize. You will receive your first (or in most cases, only) check with your prize winnings six to eight weeks from claiming your prize.
So how do you win "a big one?" I wish I had the answer. One idea to ponder is to pursue purchasing tickets at retailers that seem to have the winning touch.
The Lottery has a "Lucky Retailers" database that shows, of its 22,000 retail locations, over 4,000 retailers considered "lucky." Lucky is defined as, within the last calendar year, either 1) sold at least one winning ticket of $100,000 or more; 2) paid out an average of 400 or more winning tickets per week or 3) paid out an average of $4,000 or more of winning tickets each week. You can access this searchable list at https://www.calottery.com/Where-To-Play and search for “only Lucky Retailers.”
What most interests me is retailers in Ventura County that meet parameter #1; selling at least one $100,000+ ticket over the previous calendar year. So let's take a look at which local retailers meet that parameter as of late November 2016. It is actually quite a short list!
Hi-Time Liquor, 140 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks
7-Eleven, 609 Rancho Conejo Blvd, Thousand Oaks
Mobil, 855 N. Wendy Drive, Newbury Park
7-Eleven, 1840 Cochran Street, Simi Valley
Simi Valley Smoke Shop, 2902 Cochran Street, Simi Valley
76 Station, 2605 Stearns Street, Simi Valley
Shell Station, 1604 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo
Log Cabin Liquor, 2457 Alameda Avenue, Ventura
Pat Holden Liquor, 860 South A Street, Oxnard
Goode's Liquor, 1271 Saviers Road, Oxnard
7-Eleven, 2201 E. Gonzales Road, Oxnard
Superior Grocers, 2401 Saviers Road, Oxnard
That's it! Pretty short list!
