The owner of the Lebanon convenience store that sold a $1.35 billion lottery ticket handed out bonuses to his staff this week after getting a $50,000 check from lottery officials.
Hometown Gas & Grill owner Fred Cotreau said it seemed only right to share about half of the unexpected windfall with his 14-member staff.
“I’m trying to improve morale and build loyalty,” he said. “They are good people.”
Cotreau said he calculated how many months each employee had worked prior to the sale of the Jan. 13 winning ticket and calculated the bonuses accordingly.
Some of his long-time employees got about $3,500, while the newer college age employees got $300-$400, he said.
Lebanon is a small town of under 6,400, tucked in western York County on the New Hampshire border. News of the winning ticket brought a swarm of media attention to the community and Hometown Gas & Grill for a few days last month.
As for the big billion-dollar Mega Millions winner, state lottery officials say no one has come forward yet.
The drawing was the second largest in the Mega Millions’ history. The odds of winning were 1 in 302.6 million.