Sisters Win in Super Lotto Without Buying a Ticket

It’s a far cry from $13 million, the value of this week’s winning Super Lotto ticket. But the $65,000 bonus that goes to the seller of the lucky ticket will make Christmas considerably brighter for two widowed sisters struggling to keep Ringside Liquors afloat.

“We are not so young anymore to work this hard,” said Ki Hyang Nam, 60, who immigrated from Korea with her sister, Ki Yol Nam, 18 years ago. “So we were thinking maybe we have to sell the store.”

They thought that until Thursday, that is. That is when state lottery officials paid a visit to the spartan establishment to tell the sisters they had sold the Super Lotto winning ticket Wednesday.

That meant that Ringside Liquors will receive the state’s standard commission on winning-ticket sales--0.5% of the prize; in this case, $65,000.

“We were watching on television Wednesday night when they said the ticket was bought at Studio City,” said Ki Yol Nam. “But we did not dare think it might be our store. That would be too much luck.”

It is the second time the store has sold a big winner. Four years ago, a neighborhood woman bought a ticket at Ringside with five of the six correct numbers, winning $400,000. The store’s commission was only $2,000, but the grateful winner sent Ki Yol Nam on an all-expense-paid Hawaiian vacation.

This week’s big winner had not yet surfaced by Friday night, but lottery spokeswoman Norma Minas said that is not unusual. The two sisters get their money regardless.

“Some people don’t check their tickets right away, so they may not even know they won,” she said. And sometimes, big winners don’t step forward right away “because they take the time first to get their financial affairs in order,” Minas said.

Customers at the store on Friday were buzzing about the mystery winner, wondering whether it might be one of their neighbors from the apartment buildings that line Moorpark Street.

The sisters have operated the corner liquor store for 12 years. “We feel very close to this neighborhood. We have nice customers and we try to survive,” said Ki Hyang Nam.

The news Friday brought them some new customers, drawn by news of the big win. “I usually buy my tickets at the Mobil station down the street,” auto detailer Jules Dziesinski said as he purchased five tickets for today’s drawing. “I figured this is only a block away, and maybe if I come down here, I’ll get lucky.”

The sisters said they haven’t decided what to do with their windfall, but overdue expenses will eat up a good chunk. They are behind on their rent and face insurance and property tax payments this month, they said.

“All we think of now is those bills, that we can stop worrying and pay those bills,” Ki Hyang Nam said. “And maybe then, we can stop working so hard.”

At an age when many people contemplate retirement, the sisters are still putting in 15-hour days at the store. Family members used to help out, but now Ki Yol’s nephew has found a job, and Ki Hyang’s son is off in college.

So the women run the store on a shoestring, taking turns behind the counter from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. “We hardly make enough to have a profit,” Ki Hyang Nam said. “We were thinking, maybe it is time to give up.”

“But now,” her 58-year-old sister said, smiling, “maybe this means we stay.”