Owners Of Crackpot Restaurant Win $50,000

BALTIMORE, MD — Three brothers who own the Crackpot Liquors and Crackpot Restaurant recently won $100,000 playing the lottery.

Taking a break from work, the trio bought their lottery tickets from EZ Convenience and Deli next door to the Crackpot on Loch Raven Boulevard.

Dolendra Paudel, Dipak Rijal and Jeevan Sharma bought several scratchoff tickets at the store.

Sharma began scratching them off, and his brothers-in-law went outside. The ticket showed he won $100,000.

“It didn’t sink in what just happened, so I scanned the ticket in the store," Sharma said. "I thought, ‘This machine must be broken.'"

His brother-in-law Dolendra Paudel also questioned the validity of the ticket.

“It was unbelievable,” Paudel said. "I scanned the ticket using my phone to check it again."

The men, who moved to the United States seven years ago from Nepal with the sisters they married, said they plan to use the money for something that could turn a profit.

Said Rijal: "We are going to invest in our new business venture."

Lottery officials said that each brother will receive $22,126.50, after taxes.

For selling the grand prize ticket, EZ Convenience will get $1,000. It's not the first time the store has been connected to a five-figure win. In November, the shop sold a winning ticket that was cashed in for more than $12,000.