BELLS, Texas – One lucky customer who purchased a Powerball ticket from a Lone Star Food Store in Bells is now $40-million richer, reports the Herald Democrat. It’s also a milestone for the state of Texas: According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, this marks the first time anyone in Texas has won the Powerball jackpot since the state joined the non-profit group in 2010. 

Larry Janning, manager of the convenience store, was one of the first to find out about the winning ticket sale. “It could have been (anytime) since Sunday,” Janning told the newspaper, adding, “We do know it was a ‘quick pick,’ so it’s not a multi-draw pick from several weeks back …”

“We’re in amazement,” said Diane McCarty, chief executive officer of Douglass Distributing Retail Company, which owns the Lone Star store. “We’ve had retail stores for 30 years, and we’ve never had anything like this happen … we’re so excited!” 

Both Janning and McCarty expressed their wish that a local resident is the lucky prizewinner. “We got a lot of great people here. Most of (our customers) we see two or three times a day, seven days a week, you know … we’ve got a lot of regulars,” said Janning.

McCarty said that Lone Star will likely host a celebration of the historic Powerball ticket sale for its employees.