2 players cash in on multimillion-dollar lottery tickets in A-K Valley

As Ralph Eberle fed dollar bills into a lottery machine Monday at Sheetz in Harrison, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that two multimillion-dollar tickets had been sold within days of each other in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Admittedly, Eberle, of Harrison, would’ve preferred to be one of the winners.

“That’s good! Most I win is a couple bucks,” he said.

Pennsylvania Lottery officials said Monday that a $3 million scratch-off winner was sold at the BP gas station along Freeport Road in Harrison. It was from the $160 Million Cash Blowout game, which cost $30.

On Sunday, another player hit big with a $1.4 million Cash 5 ticket at Giant Eagle along Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington.

“If I won something that big, I’d give half to Children’s Hospital and give the other half to my own children,” Eberle said.

Lottery hopeful Bethann Wilson said she couldn’t imagine spending $30 on a scratch-off but would be happy with any amount of winnings.

“I’d take half of that $3 million,” she said, with a laugh. “I’d take less than half, too.”

It might seem rare for two multimillion-dollar winners to be sold within miles and days of each other, but prizes are distributed at random, said Diana Dietz, lottery deputy communications director.

“The chances of winning are not influenced by where a ticket is sold,” Dietz said. “What may seem like a cluster of wins in a certain area is more likely just pure luck.”

In that case, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties have seen their share of luck recently.

Just two weeks ago, a BP gas station in Freeport sold a $1 million scratch-off. The winning ticket was from the lottery’s $1,000,000 Game and was sold at the store at 222 Buffalo St.

Last year, there were two big tickets sold in Harmar — both from the former Willy’s Beer and Beverage on Freeport Road. The winnings for those tickets were $350,000 and $1 million.

It happened in Murrysville, too. The Route 22 Shop ’n Save sold a $1.8 million Cash 5 ticket on New Year’s Eve 2023, followed in May by a $2.6 million Cash 5 ticket.

According to the lottery website, Allegheny County winners took home $361 million in 2022-23.

In Westmoreland, winning games in the same period totaled $131 million.

“As would be expected with random distribution, regions with larger numbers of players tend to have a proportionate ratio of players winning,” Dietz said. “This does not mean those regions are any luckier than other areas.”

Winning tickets are sold all over Pennsylvania, Dietz said.

The Lottery website posts a monthly winners list of those who take home $1,000 or more.

“These lists show that there are a variety of winners from all parts of the commonwealth,” Dietz said.

Perry Singh, clerk at the Harrison BP station where this week’s winning ticket was sold, said it was exciting for the lucky ticket to come from his store.

“I don’t know who it was, but it’s nice,” he said.

That store, and the New Kensington Giant Eagle, will each receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning tickets.