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According to the Illinois Lottery, this is the sixth jackpot over $1 million sold since January 2021, and the largest jackpot win since June 2020.
The ticket was sold at Total Liquors at 823 Summit St. in Elgin. It matched all six numbers from Saturday’s drawing: 13-15-28-29-31-44.
The store that sells a winning ticket gets a selling bonus of 1% of the prize amount; in this case, that’s $125,000.
The owners at Total Liquors said they didn’t even know their store sold the winner for Saturday’s game until another business owner called them just before midnight after the drawing.
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Co-owner Bharat Patel said he was in “total shock and disbelief” when he got the call. He said he checked the Lottery’s website and saw his store was indeed listed as having sold the winner.
“He called Saturday night, 12 o’clock; ‘hey uncle, you win,” Patel said.
He said his disbelief then turned into sheer joy because his store will received $125,000 for selling the ticket.
“I feel very good, very happy,” Patel said. “I can’t sleep, two hours, three hours, thinking, thinking too much.”
He said he intends to reinvest the money in the store, which they’ve owned for five years.
“No, no, nothing for me,” Patel said, when asked if he’d buy himself something with the earnings.
Patel said he suspects the winner is a regular customer who frequently plays the game at the store, especially when the jackpot gets this big.
“90 percent, my heart says this guy,” he said.
Total Liquors is no stranger to selling winning Lottery tickets.
“Over the years, we’ve sold a lot of winning Lottery tickets. However, this is the biggest one we’ve been a part of – thanks to our loyal customers,” Patel said.
The winner should write their name on the back of the ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their winnings. Prizes over $1 million must be claimed by calling the Illinois Lottery Claims Hotline at 217-524-5147.
For more information on how to claim your Lottery winnings, click here.
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Source: ABC7
