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Some Lottery Vendors Lament Mega Millions Expansion

"But in Fort Lee, the newest incarnation of New Jersey's multistate lottery is a bad dream for merchants, who fear they'll be waving goodbye to their own cash bonanzas -those produced by frenzied New Yorkers who used to cross the George Washington Bridge in search of huge payouts.

"Effective today, the game's name change -from the Big Game to Mega Millions -comes about as Ohio and New York become the eighth and ninth states in the pool.

"…The addition of New York is bad news for Fort Lee merchants such as Bob Kanjlia, owner of Fort Lee Stationery on Main Street; Mike Patel, manager of Gloria's Deli on Main Street; and Haren Parikh, co-owner of Garden State News on Lemoine Avenue.

"Kanjlia and Parikh said that when the Big Game jackpot hit $331 million last month, about 75 percent of their ticket sales were to New Yorkers. One of the three winners in that drawing was from Manalapan.

"…Still, Parikh said he doesn't begrudge New York's addition to the game, saying, `They're in business to make money, too.'

"…Other lottery vendors near the New York-New Jersey border are less concerned. Mahwah Liquors owner Charles Fotiadas; Arun Mumar, clerk at the Mobil Mart in Mahwah; and Mary Lou Gibbons, manager of the Mobil Mart in Ringwood,see lottery ticket sales falling by 5 percent to 10 percent…"

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