MAYWOOD, N.J. -- Krupen "Kay" Dudhia was servicing a stream of customers at his Coronet Variety Store in Maywood when one of them calmly told him he'd just won $5 million on an instant scratch-off New Jersey lottery ticket.

"I guess it didn't sink in immediately," Dudhia told Daily Voice on Thursday, as he accepted kudos from customers and friends for selling the ticket.

The middle-aged winner is a regular customer who Dudhia said ordinarily buys at least two tickets a day at his West Pleasant Avenue store.

Although he doesn't know what the man does for a living, "his wife is a doctor," Dudhia said, "and he seems to be doing OK for himself."

The man bought his tickets and scratched them off in the store on Wednesday as he usually does, the store owner said.

Sure enough, another customer told him: "It would be great if you won $5 million."

The next thing Dudhia knew, he was on line.

At first he thought he misheard him.

"No, I'm serious," the winner replied. "I just won $5 million."

When it all finally sunk in -- for both him and the store owner -- the man "got very, very excited," Dudhia said. "He started asking me if I could call the lottery to ask about this and ask about that.

"I called and they said he had to fill out a form and go to Trenton to verify it.

"I think he still can't get his mind around it," a still-happy Dudhia told Daily Voice after putting up a makeshift 'winner' sign while awaiting the official banner from the New Jersey Lottery.

"Neither can I," he said.

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