Lucky IL Resident Buys $12.5M Winning Lotto Ticket At Elgin Store

ELGIN, IL — A lucky Illinois resident is now $12.5 million richer after he purchased a winning lottery ticket at an Elgin liquor store over the weekend, Illinois Lottery officials announced on Monday.

Lottery officials did not identify the lucky winner but said that the owners of Total Liquors also will benefit from the biggest Lotto payout since 2020. The store owners, Bharat and Chetan Patel, will receive a $125,000 bonus for selling the ticket.

The lucky Lotto Jackpot player is the sixth in Illinois to claim a prize of at least $1 million since January 2021, officials said Monday. And while the ticket holder who matched all six numbers in Saturday night’s drawing (13, 15, 28, 29, 31, and 34) hasn’t publicly been identified, the Elgin store owners are basking in the winning ticket.

Jackpot winners in Illinois have up to a year to claim their winnings, lottery officials said.

The owners of the Elgin liquor store said that they were not even aware they had sold the winning ticket until another local business owner called them late Saturday night to break the news.

“When I took the call, I was in total shock and disbelief,” Bharat Patel said in a news release issued by Illinois 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.”

Patel said that the store’s phone has been ringing non-stop since Saturday. However, he said that Total Liquors has sold its share of winning tickets over the years — but nothing like this.

He said he can’t be for certain who the lucky winner is, but said that the customer is a regular who only plays one particular Lottery game every time he purchases a ticket. As for the $125,000 bonus? Patel said he will use the majority of the cash to reinvest into his business.

Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played three times a week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, and the current jackpot is at $2 million for Monday night’s drawing.

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, officials said. Winners should visit IllinoisLottery.com/winning to learn how to claim their prizes.