A lottery ticket worth $12.5 million was sold over the weekend at an Elgin liquor store.
The winner of the Lotto grand prize bought their ticket at Total Liquors at 823 Summit St., a news release said.
While they’ve not yet contacted the state or the store owners about having the jackpot ticket, the winner is the sixth Lotto player since January 2021 to collect a million dollars or more and their prize is the largest Lotto payout since June 2020, the release said.
Store owners Bharat and Chetan Patel will receive a $125,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the ticket. They were unaware of their store’s fortune until another business owner called to let them know just before midnight Saturday, the release said.
“When I took the call, I was in total shock and disbelief,” Bharat Patel told Lottery officials. “I didn’t believe it, so I checked the Illinois Lottery’s website and saw our store’s name listed as the retailer that sold the winning Lotto ticket. At that moment, my disbelief turned into sheer joy!
“Our phone is ringing off the hook, and customers have been stopping by to congratulate us. It’s been overwhelming but also very exciting,” Patel said.
The winning numbers chosen Saturday night were 13-15-28-29-31-44.
Total Liquors has sold winning Lottery tickets over the five years the Patels have owned the store but never for such a large amount, Patel told officials.
While the winner’s identity remains a mystery for now, Patel said he thinks he knows who it might be.
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“I’m not sure but I think it’s a regular customer that frequently plays the Lotto game at our store,” he said. “It’s the only game that he plays.”
As for the bonus payment, Patel said he plans to invest a significant portion of it back into his business.
Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The current jackpot is at $2 million.