The 50 Luckiest Lottery Stores in New York, Ranked by Data
Everyone has a "lucky store." But is yours actually lucky — or is that just confirmation bias talking?
We decided to find out. We scored 3,435 New York lottery retailers across all 9 NY Lottery regions using our 9-factor Smart Score model. Not just payout rates — we measured consistency, momentum, freshness, statistical significance, and more.
Here's the definitive, data-backed list of the hottest scratch-off stores in New York right now.
The #1 Store in New York
A small grocery store in Endicott — not a chain, not a gas station — sits at the very top of 3,435 scored retailers. Apple Food & Grocery has a 76.7% payout rate (vs. the ~62% statewide average) and has been above average in 96% of reporting periods. That's not a hot streak — that's a pattern.
It scores 100/100 on our Freshness factor (data is recent and complete) and 93.3/100 on Statistical Significance (enough ticket volume that the numbers are trustworthy, not noise).
Top 20 Stores Statewide
| # | Score | Store | City | Region | Payout | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 92.2 | Apple Food & Grocery | Endicott | Southern Tier | 76.7% | 96% |
| 2 | 90.8 | Green Hills Farm Store | Syracuse | Central | 86.0% | 100% |
| 3 | 89.8 | Wegmans #83 | Buffalo | Western | 86.6% | 93% |
| 4 | 89.2 | MG Food Mart | Port Jervis | Hudson Valley | 73.6% | 89% |
| 5 | 88.1 | Wegmans #91 | Buffalo | Western | 74.5% | 82% |
| 6 | 87.5 | Wegmans #13 | Rochester | Finger Lakes | 77.2% | 86% |
| 7 | 87.3 | Wegmans #64 | Rochester | Finger Lakes | 78.4% | 89% |
| 8 | 87.2 | Tops Markets #246 | Le Roy | Western | 79.6% | 89% |
| 9 | 87.1 | Kieffer's Cigar | Liverpool | Central | 76.8% | 71% |
| 10 | 87.0 | Smokes 4 Less | Pleasant Valley | Hudson Valley | 77.1% | 61% |
| 11 | 87.0 | Wegmans #39 | Syracuse | Central | 82.8% | 96% |
| 12 | 86.9 | Tops Markets #452 | Hilton | Finger Lakes | 71.7% | 86% |
| 13 | 86.9 | Pick Quik | Geneva | Finger Lakes | 80.3% | 96% |
| 14 | 86.9 | WN Gas Mart Inc | Buffalo | Western | 75.7% | 86% |
| 15 | 86.8 | Wegmans #73 | Johnson City | Southern Tier | 84.0% | 100% |
| 16 | 86.6 | Tops Markets #504 | Auburn | Central | 79.7% | 93% |
| 17 | 86.2 | Tops Markets #450 | Hamlin | Finger Lakes | 64.7% | 75% |
| 18 | 86.2 | Wegmans #90 | Buffalo | Western | 73.9% | 82% |
| 19 | 86.1 | Exxon 94 & 9W | New Windsor | Hudson Valley | 62.1% | 50% |
| 20 | 85.9 | Tops Markets #011 | Lockport | Western | 78.1% | 96% |
A few things jump out immediately:
- Wegmans appears 8 times in the top 20. Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Johnson City — wherever there's a Wegmans, it's crushing.
- Tops Markets has 4 spots. Between the two chains, supermarkets own 60% of the top 20.
- The payout range is 62%–87% among the top 20, meaning some score high on factors other than raw payout (like freshness, consistency, or win streaks).
- No NYC stores in the top 20. Not one. We'll get into why below.
Why Supermarkets Dominate
This isn't a coincidence. Supermarkets have a structural advantage in our model, and it's the same advantage they have for players:
- High volume = high significance. Wegmans #13 in Rochester sells $409,000/month in scratch-offs. That much data means the payout rate isn't noise — it's signal. Small delis selling $5K/month can be skewed by a single lucky customer.
- Regular deliveries = fresh packs. Chain supermarkets get new ticket packs on a predictable schedule. Fresh packs mean a full, unplayed set of winners available. Our delivery schedule data confirms this.
- Consistency over months. The #2 store (Green Hills Farm, Syracuse) and #15 (Wegmans #73, Johnson City) both hit 100% consistency — meaning they've been above average in every single reporting period we track.
If you want a data-backed strategy for where to buy: find the nearest Wegmans or Tops with a high Smart Score. It's not glamorous advice, but the numbers are hard to argue with.
The Best Regions in New York
New York is officially divided into 9 Lottery regions. Here's how they stack up by average Smart Score:
| # | Region | Avg Score | Stores | A-Grade | Avg Payout | Heating Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finger Lakes | 67.0 | 156 | 23 (15%) | 60.6% | 45% |
| 2 | Long Island | 66.9 | 279 | 31 (11%) | 67.2% | 41% |
| 3 | NYC | 65.2 | 268 | 0 (0%) | 64.2% | 47% |
| 4 | Capital / Adirondack | 63.9 | 236 | 9 (4%) | 61.2% | 45% |
| 5 | Hudson Valley | 61.1 | 498 | 60 (12%) | 64.0% | 48% |
| 6 | Western | 54.5 | 419 | 46 (11%) | 59.7% | 58% |
| 7 | Southern Tier | 50.6 | 359 | 23 (6%) | 50.7% | 36% |
| 8 | Central | 48.1 | 534 | 27 (5%) | 51.5% | 37% |
| 9 | North Country | 43.9 | 76 | 2 (3%) | 41.3% | 37% |
The Finger Lakes surprise
Rochester-anchored Finger Lakes barely edges out Long Island for the top spot — 67.0 vs. 66.9. But look at the A-grade concentration: 15% of Finger Lakes stores score 80+, the highest rate of any region. Rochester's Wegmans and Tops locations pull the whole region up.
Long Island's depth
With 279 scored stores and 31 A-grade retailers, Long Island has the deepest bench of any region. Suffolk County leads with 26 A-grade stores (led by SD Smoke Shop in Rocky Point at 85.8), and Nassau adds another 5. If you live on the Island, you likely have an A-grade store within a 10-minute drive.
The NYC paradox
NYC ranks #3 overall (65.2 average score) — but has zero A-grade stores. How is that possible?
NYC's scores are very tightly clustered. Nobody is amazing, but nobody is terrible either. The max Smart Score in the city is just 73.8 (New Moon River Inc in Manhattan). Here's why:
- Extreme volume competition. NYC has so many stores that no single retailer accumulates the pack consistency that upstate supermarkets achieve.
- Draw Index drag. NYC's average Draw Index score is 94.6 — the highest in the state — meaning ticket diversity is high but it dilutes each store's per-game payout signal.
- No Wegmans factor. NYC lacks the high-volume supermarket chains that dominate upstate rankings.
Best County in Every Region
| Region | Top County | Avg Score | #1 Store | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson Valley | Putnam | 69.0 | T & J Food Mart | Carmel |
| Hudson Valley | Dutchess | 68.1 | Smokes 4 Less | Pleasant Valley |
| Finger Lakes | Monroe | 67.0 | Wegmans #13 | Rochester |
| Long Island | Nassau | 66.9 | Front St Farmers Market | Uniondale |
| Long Island | Suffolk | 66.9 | SD Smoke Shop | Rocky Point |
| NYC | Manhattan | 66.0 | New Moon River Inc | New York |
| Capital | Albany | 65.2 | MNZ Mart | Albany |
| Western | Erie | 55.7 | Wegmans #83 | Buffalo |
| Central | Onondaga | 50.7 | Green Hills Farm Store | Syracuse |
| Southern Tier | Broome | 52.5 | Apple Food & Grocery | Endicott |
| North Country | Limited data — 76 stores, max score 75.8 | |||
Two Hudson Valley counties — Putnam (69.0) and Dutchess (68.1) — have the highest average county scores in the entire state. Dutchess alone has 42 A-grade stores. If you're anywhere near Poughkeepsie or Pleasant Valley, the data is on your side.
Meanwhile, Erie County (Buffalo) is a fascinating case: an average score of just 55.7, but it has 42 A-grade stores — more than any county except Dutchess. Erie is extremely polarized: the great stores are incredible, but the average ones drag the county's overall number down.
What Makes a Top Store? The 9 Factors
Our Smart Score model weights these factors using machine-learning optimization against next-day outcomes:
| Factor | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Freshness | 37% | How recent is the store's data? Stale data means stale scores. |
| Consistency | 16% | What % of reporting periods is the store above average? |
| Significance | 16% | Enough ticket volume to trust the numbers? Small stores get penalized. |
| Payout | 14% | Bayesian-smoothed win percentage. Not just raw wins/losses. |
| Streak | 9% | Consecutive above-average days. Hot streaks matter. |
| Draw Index | 7% | Ticket diversity and game coverage at the store. |
| Volume | 1% | Total dollars sold. High-volume stores regress to the mean faster. |
| Momentum | ~0% | Payout trend direction. Currently near-zero weight. |
| Inventory | ~0% | Fresh pack availability signal. Currently near-zero weight. |
Notice that Freshness is the biggest factor at 37%. This is counterintuitive until you think about it: a store with slightly lower payout but data from yesterday is more predictive than a store with amazing payout data from two weeks ago. By the time data goes stale, the packs those numbers came from have already been sold.
Also note: Momentum and Inventory are near-zero. Our autoresearch optimizer tested every weight combination and found these factors don't reliably predict next-day outcomes. So the model effectively ignores them — which is a feature, not a bug. Only factors that actually work earn weight.
The Borough Breakdown: NYC Deep Dive
Even though NYC has no A-grade stores, there are meaningful differences between boroughs:
| Borough | Avg Score | Stores | Max Score | Best Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 66.0 | 65 | 73.8 | New Moon River Inc |
| Bronx | 65.6 | 88 | 72.6 | Allerton Liquors |
| Queens | 65.3 | 47 | 73.7 | Appetito Deli Grocery |
| Staten Island | 64.1 | 11 | 69.9 | Romi Cards & Gifts |
| Brooklyn | 63.6 | 57 | 70.2 | V & K Liquor Corp |
Manhattan edges out the other boroughs with a 66.0 average. But the gap between the best and worst borough is only 2.4 points — almost nothing. NYC is remarkably flat. If you're a city player, focus on individual store scores in our Store Finder rather than trying to "drive to the lucky borough."
Hidden Gems: Small Stores That Outscore Chains
While supermarkets dominate the rankings, some independents are punching way above their weight:
- MG Food Mart (Port Jervis) — Score 89.2, 73.6% payout. A small convenience store in Sullivan County that outscores every Tops in the state.
- Kieffer's Cigar (Liverpool, near Syracuse) — Score 87.1, 76.8% payout. A specialty tobacco shop with lottery chops.
- Pick Quik (Geneva, Finger Lakes) — Score 86.9, 80.3% payout, 96% consistency. One of the most consistent small stores in the state.
- Food Circus (Troy, Capital region) — Score 83.9, 84.5% payout. The #1 store in Rensselaer County by a wide margin.
- Cumberland Farms #1609 (Cambridge) — Score 84.0, 104.9% payout. Yes, that's above 100% — this store has been paying out more than it takes in recently, thanks to big-ticket winners.
The Momentum Map: Which Regions Are Getting Hotter?
Looking at the percentage of stores whose scores are trending upward ("heating up"):
- Western NY is surging: 58% heating up. Buffalo-area stores have the most upward momentum statewide. If you're in Erie or Niagara County, this is a good time to check scores.
- Hudson Valley is steady at 48% — nearly half the region is trending up, which is balanced.
- Southern Tier and Central are cooling: 36-37% heating up. Most stores in the Syracuse, Binghamton, and Ithaca areas are trending downward or flat.
Momentum is a trailing indicator — by the time a store shows up as "heating up," the hottest phase may already be happening. But it's useful for identifying regions in an upswing.
Key Takeaways
1. The Finger Lakes and Long Island are the two best regions for scratch-off buyers, with the highest average Smart Scores and highest concentration of A-grade stores.
2. Wegmans and Tops dominate. Supermarkets own 12 of the top 20 spots. High volume + regular deliveries + consistency = top scores.
3. NYC has zero A-grade stores — the city trades standout performers for compressed, average consistency. Borough differences are negligible.
4. Dutchess and Erie Counties each have 42 A-grade stores — more than any other counties. Dutchess is the best by average; Erie is the most polarized.
5. Apple Food & Grocery in Endicott is the #1 store in all of New York at 92.2 — a small grocery that outscores every chain location in the state.
How to Use This Data
This analysis is a snapshot from April 2026. Smart Scores update daily as new sales data flows in from the NY Open Data API. Today's #1 store might be #5 next week if its packs rotate.
For live, always-current rankings:
- Use our Store Finder — Enter your zip code and see every scored store near you, updated daily.
- Look for A-grade stores — Anything 80+ is in the top tier. B-grade (65-79) is still above average.
- Check consistency, not just payout. A store with 70% payout and 90% consistency is a better bet than one with 85% payout and 50% consistency. The second store had a lucky month; the first one is reliably above average.
Find your nearest top-rated store
Our Store Finder scores 11,000+ NY retailers daily using 9 data-backed factors.
Open Store Finder →Methodology & Data Sources
This analysis used:
- NY Open Data API (data.ny.gov) — Official instant-game sales and payout data reported daily by the NY Lottery.
- Smart Score API — Our 9-factor scoring model, auto-optimized nightly using XGBoost autoresearch against next-day outcomes.
- 3,435 stores scored across 27 strategic zip codes covering all 9 NY Lottery regions, with a 25-mile radius per zip.
- 256 A-grade stores (score 80+), consisting of 7.5% of all scored retailers.
Smart Score weights are not manually assigned — they're the output of a machine-learning optimization that tests every weight combination and selects the one that best predicts next-day store performance. Full methodology here.
Data sourced from nylottery.ny.gov and data.ny.gov. Updated daily. For entertainment and informational purposes only. Please play responsibly.
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Alex builds the Smart Score model and analyzes scratch-off data daily using official NY Lottery prize reports and open data APIs. All rankings are based on math, not gut feeling. Learn about our methodology.