HILLSBOROUGH: Lottery-winning couple stays anonymous, but store enjoys surge in ticket sales

By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
   Bhavesh Shah is becoming the biggest supplier of lottery tickets in the municipality, and he owes it all to one couple taking a chance on luck.
   A Hillsborough couple, who declined to give their names, won the $2 million lottery prize in the New Jersey Lottery’s Jersey Jackpot Raffle in January, after purchasing a ticket from Krauszer’s Food Store, on Amwell Road, owned by Mr. Shah.
   ”They were very excited,” he said. “This is excellent news.”
   Mr. Shah said the couple, who has two sons, are planning to use the money to take care of the family and prepare for the future, while continuing to work themselves.
   But, as the couple used the money to pay off a mortgage and start a fund for the future in this uncertain economy, Mr. Shah said he has also been able to reap the rewards of selling the winning ticket. Once the word spread, he said, people began flocking to his store to try their luck as well.
   ”That’s why more people are coming here and making me busy,” he said. “This win has been good for my business too.”
   According to Mr. Shah, this is not only the highest winner from his store, but in Hillsborough in general. For him, he said, the biggest win he had seen prior to this was $175,000 from a ticket that was sold at his store.
   ”I’m now the busiest person in town because everyone comes here,” he said with a laugh. “This is the lucky store.”
   Two other $2 million winning tickets were sold at Welsh Farms, in Manchester, and Quick Shop, in Hillsdale.