By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WEST CHESTER TWP. - A $31 million Ohio Lottery ticket was sold this week at a convenience store and gas station in Pisgah, a state lottery official and the store manager confirmed Friday.

The buyer of the Super Lotto Plus ticket Wednesday at Ameri-Stop Food Mart at U.S. 42 and Dimmick Road has yet to claim the money..

The winning ticket is the third large one sold in the Tristate since the spring, said Mardele Cohen, Ohio Lottery spokeswoman. In May, a Lebanon man won $36 million and a Cincinnati-area man won $5 million, she noted.

It's not unusual, she added, for the winner not to immediately claim the money.

"I imagine the person is getting over the initial surprise," Cohen said. "Hopefully what they are doing is speaking to an accountant, perhaps an attorney. This is a tremendous amount of money, a life-changing amount, and you want to make sure you handle it properly."

Workers and shoppers at Ameri-Stop were buzzing over the news Friday.

Michael Brauninger, Ameri-Stop's manager, said "an excited sounding woman" phoned Thursday and asked about the winning numbers - and then hung up.

"She said she played here all the time. It would be nice to have someone you know have something like this happen to them," Brauninger said. "It's as close as I'll ever come to $30 million, probably."

Most of the store's regular lottery players, including some who buy hundreds of dollars in tickets each week, didn't seem too disappointed Friday they weren't the ones cashing in.

"I just hope it's someone who really needs it," said Lou Post, 39, of West Chester.

The winning ticket was a manual pick marked for an annuity, which means the $31 million would be paid over 30 years.

The winner would receive $738,833.34 annually for 30 years, after state and federal taxes.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.