Winning $45M lotto ticket sold in New Port Richey: 'He deserves it'

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - A regular customer of Coastal Wine and Liquor in New Port Richey is $45 million richer this morning after hitting the winning lottery numbers. 

Roma Patel, whose family owns the store, did not reveal the winner’s identity but said he’s been a regular customer for the past 15 years. 

She added that he has played the same numbers for 27 years.

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"He woke up and was like, ‘I couldn’t sleep all night,'" Patel said. "He’s like, ‘Can you please check this for me?’ We check it and he won. He was so excited."

Patel's family has owned Coastal Wine and Liquor in New Port Richey for 23 years. 

Patel said the store has sold winning tickets in the past that were worth about $1,000, but this is the first time a customer has won a multi-million-dollar jackpot.

"It’s exciting, especially because he’s a regular customer," she said. "He was just so shocked. We were shocked that it was him, but we were very happy for him because he deserves it. "