Bolingbrook Resident Wins $1 Million Lotto Prize
Another Illinois Lotto player became a millionaire overnight – making it the third $1 million Lotto winner in the past two weeks!
The winning Lotto ticket was purchased at Stop 24 Liquors, located at 319 Veterans Pkwy. in Bolingbrook, and matched all six Lotto Million 1 numbers in the Thursday, January 27 drawing: 26-29-33-41-44-50.
The newly-minted millionaire has yet to come forward and claim their prize but Dashank Desai, co-owner of the liquor store, says he knows who bought the winning ticket.
“The customer was in our store this morning when an Illinois Lottery representative informed us that we sold a $1 million winning Lotto ticket,” said Desai. “The customer then called someone on the phone, read out loud the winning Lotto numbers, and then blurted out that they matched all the numbers.”
When asked what was the winning reaction from the customer, Desai said “the customer was speechless – I think they were in total shock.”
Desai, who co-owns the liquor store with his parents, has sold several winning Lottery tickets over the years but he says “this one was the largest jackpot.”
“We’ve been in business at this location for over 21 years so we are very excited that a regular customer from our own neighborhood won the million dollar prize – it’s extra special when it’s someone you know.”
For selling the winning ticket, the retailer will receive a bonus of $10,000, one percent of the prize amount.
Although a majority of the bonus winnings will be put towards the family business, Desai does plan to use a portion of the bonus to do something special with their loyal store employees.
Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played three times a week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and the current jackpot is $7.1 million for the next draw, Saturday, January 29.
The Illinois Lottery encourages all lucky winners to write their name on the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their prize. They have one year from the date of the winning draw to do so. Winners should visit IllinoisLottery.com/winning to learn how to claim their prizes.
illinoislottery.com or download the Illinois Lottery app on your smartphone.