Earlier today, New Hampshire Lottery officials presented checks to two stores that sold winning Powerball tickets. Rick Plaisted , area manager for Nouria Energy and Jesci Larochelle, store manager of Main Dunstable Shell in Nashua, were presented a $10,000 check for selling a $1,000,000 winning Powerball ticket; and Jeff Bell, owner of Cabot Street Market in Portsmouth was presented with $20,000 for selling a $2,000,000 winning Powerball ticket.  Both stores sold winning tickets for the August 8, 2012 Powerball Drawing, but the winners have yet to come forward.

“This store doesn’t typically see a lot of ‘commuter’ customers, and instead our customers are mostly local people,” said Larochelle. “We are very excited to have sold a million dollar ticket, and it would just be great if the winner was in fact one of our loyal local customers.”

Main Dunstable Shell has never before sold a winning ticket with a value this high, and has posted signs around the store to encourage its players to check their August 8th Powerball tickets to see if it is the lucky ticket. 

While the Seacoast winner has yet to officially come forward to claim his prize, he did in fact show up at the store last Sunday to check his Powerball ticket. “When I told him he had won $2,000,000 he was shocked.  Just to tell him he won was an amazing feeling,” said Bell. Cabot Street Market will share part of its $20,000 incentive check with the store employees.

“I love giving away money!” said Charlie McIntyre, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission. “We are happy to say that, to-date; the New Hampshire Lottery has given more than $200 million to retailers around the state!”  

The next Powerball drawing is tonight with an estimated jackpot of $320,000,000 ($213,300,000 cash value) and is the 4th largest jackpot ever.