By Cody Francis TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, March 12, 2011
A Unity retailer was one of three in the state to sell a winning ticket for the Pennsylvania Lottery's Treasure Hunt jackpot.
Morella's Route 30 Shop 'n Save, in the Latrobe 30 Plaza, sold one of the three winning tickets to the $221,932.50 jackpot — the largest jackpot since the state introduced the mid-day drawing in May 2007.
Lottery spokeswoman Kirstin Alvanitakis said each winner who matched all five numbers drawn, 1-5-14-17-19, in the March 10 drawing will receive $73,977.50, less 25 percent federal withholding tax.
The identities of the winners have not been confirmed. The other two winning tickets were sold in Berks and Lehigh counties.
Craig Morella, who owns the store with his wife, Lisa, said the store has sold lottery tickets since the day the couple opened it four years ago.
"We're thrilled. We think it's a great thing for our lottery customers because a lot of them are loyal and play every day," Craig Morella said. "It's funny because my wife and I kept talking about how nice it would be to get a winner here."
Alvanitakis said the Morellas will not receive a bonus for selling the winning ticket because bonuses are only paid out for amounts exceeding $100,000.
"They won't get a retail bonus but they will be able to gain the notoriety of being the lucky place in Latrobe where people can buy a winning lottery ticket," she said.
Retailers get bonuses on a tiered scale, depending on how much is won, starting at $500 for a $100,000 prize and not exceeding $100,000 for prizes greater than $10 million.
Craig Morella said finally getting a winner is a prize in itself.
"We do have a large customer base, and we see a lot of other retailers out there in the region getting winners. It's nice for our customers," he said.
