Forget lucky charms — if you’re chasing a life-changing lottery payday in California, it might be worth getting to know your neighborhood liquor store.
The California Post crunched thousands of state lottery records to find the mom-and-pop shops that have been minting millionaires and handing out six-figure windfalls since 2020 — and one unassuming South Bay liquor store is sitting on a particularly hot streak.
Bluebird Liquor in Hawthorne has sold tickets responsible for 11 separate jackpots of at least $100,000, making it the top-performing independent retailer in California over the period, according to California Lottery records.
The store — which is close to LAX and trendy Manhattan Beach — has helped customers walk away with a combined $3.1 million in big prizes since 2020.
Bluebird’s owner, Sam, bought the store in June 2023 and called the business “the jackpot of my life.”
Among the shop’s biggest success stories was a woman told The Post she stopped by after spotting a blue jay land on her car — taking the bird as a lucky sign to buy a ticket.
She later returned to show Sam a ticket worth $400,000.
Victor Valencia, of Carson, told The Post that he specifically drives to Bluebird to try his luck.
“I always commute to Hawthorne to buy my lottery tickets,” Valencia said.
“I play every day.”
Valencia said he matched five Powerball numbers in July, just missing a jackpot worth $663 million.
The California Post reviewed 4,273 lottery payments of at least $100,000 made between January 2020 and September 2026. The payment dates reflect when prizes were paid, meaning some winning drawings took place before 2020.
The dates reflect when prizes were paid, so some drawings occurred before 2020.
And while Bluebird leads independent retailers, the state’s overall luckiest location is Gold Ranch Lottery in Floriston, near the California-Nevada border.
The shop has been responsible for big payouts to 12 different people through a combination of winning drawings and scratch-off tickets.
Of course, the California Lottery says there’s no secret formula for finding a lucky store.
Daniel Kelly, a spokesperson for the agency, said Bluebird’s popularity may help explain its impressive numbers, but buying a ticket there won’t give anyone a mathematical edge.
While the store gets “a lot of traffic, statistically you have the same chances of winning wherever you buy the ticket,” Kelly said.
“But if you believe in luck, we’re 100% behind you in buying from a place that you think is lucky.”
In the Bay Area, Hoppy’s Food Mart in Sunnyvale (625 S. Mary Ave.) has had six payouts covering four scratcher claims and two Fantasy 5 drawings for more than $5.5 million.
Hoppy, the owner of the store since 1999, told The Post that the key to luck is a numbers game.
“The more customers you have, the more you’re going to be lucky,” he said.
Early in the Covid pandemic in 2020, Hoppy’s Food Mart store sold a $2 million Instant Prize Crossword scratcher.
“They still come everyday,” Hoppy said. “You don’t ask about it — you just let them keep the secret.”
Stop and Shop Market in Rio Linda (6007 Dry Creek Rd) also has six big winners, covering five scratcher claims and one Fantasy 5 drawing for more than $4 million in payouts.
Customers at Dolce Espresso in San Jose (2078 Tully Rd) have been collecting considerably more than their morning coffee.
The shop has sold five scratchers totaling $8.5 million in just the last six years.
Fulton Square Liquor in Sherman Oaks (4824 Fulton Ave) has an even larger payout total across four scratcher records: $8.8 million, including three $1 million payments and one for $5.8 million in December 2022.
Mimi’s Donuts in Downey (10303 Lakewood Blvd) has had four payments covering three scratcher claims and one Fantasy 5 drawing, while 5 Star Liquor in Westminster (9461 Edinger Ave) has had four separate scratcher payments totaling $3.85 million.
When it comes to lucky cities in California, Los Angeles — the largest city in the state with nearly 3.9 million people — unsurprisingly leads with 339 payments, followed by San Jose with 137 and San Francisco with 91.
Long Beach was fourth with 72 winners, ahead of San Diego’s 68 and Sacramento’s 67. Santa Ana had 55, Riverside had 53 and Fresno had 51. Bakersfield and Anaheim were tied at 50.
7-Eleven appears on 506 payment records — nearly 12% of all winners since 2020. Chevron finished second with 155, followed by ARCO/ampm with 124 and Shell with 90.
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