Many people stop at Wawa for hoagies, coffee or some sort of snack.
But two New Jersey Lottery players have picked up $1 million prize winners at Wawa stores approximately 100 miles apart — in North Wildwood and Freehold, Monmouth County. They were among more than 40 in New Jersey who’ve won at least $1 million this year, according to a recent statement from the New Jersey Lottery.
But they were probably the only new millionaires who could celebrate their good fortune with a Sizzli and soft pretzels.
Latest concept: Wawa to experiment with travel centers
A South Jersey winner won big at a Wawa on the 300 block of West Spruce Avenue in North Wildwood, a New Jersey Lottery representative said Friday. She paid $20 for a Diamond Spectacular scratch-off game and won one of the three top prizes of $1 million each.
One $1 million ticket remains outstanding for the game.
The winner, who went to Wawa while visiting family at the shore, said she was “on a mission” to buy the lucky ticket.
“Something told me to get up, get my shoes out and get my tickets,” said the woman, who is remaining anonymous.
“Something caught my eye and I said, ‘Let me buy that,'” she added, according to an account from the New Jersey Lottery.
When collecting her winnings from the New Jersey Lottery headquarters, she noted that she has a routine for playing. She described scratching the winning numbers at the top of the card and thinking she might receive “maybe a free ticket.”
“I kept going and … oh my God! I won! I was in shock,” she told New Jersey Lottery employees.
“Tears were in my eyes. The clerk came over, looked at me and asked if she needed to call an ambulance. … Before I played, that Wawa had another winner of a couple thousand. It must be a lucky Wawa.”
The lottery player said she plans to use her windfall to buy a house near the beach and her family.
“It will be a little, tiny place. But that’s all I need,” she said.
The woman bought the winning ticket in July, but needed time to put her affairs in order before collecting the money, the New Jersey Lottery said. It announced her win early this month.
As for the Freehold winner, that person on Nov. 25 bought a Jersey Cash 5 ticket worth $1.3 million at a Route 9 Wawa — but they haven’t yet come forward.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Where’s the Wawa that sold a $1M scratch-off game? North Wildwood, NJ.