Winning $1 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In Chicago To A Store Regular

CHICAGO —A lucky lottery player who frequents a Chicago convenience store is $1 million richer after Illinois Lottery officials said on Wednesday that a customer matched all five numbers in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing.

Lottery officials announced that the winning ticket was sold at Clarendon Food Wine Spirits, which is located at 4183 N. Clarendon Ave. The lucky winner matched all five numbers, 11-24-58-66-67, to win the $1 million prize, lottery officials said.

“What a fantastic way to end February,” Bhupendra Patel, the owner of Clarendon Food Wine Spirits said in a news release. “What a fantastic way to end February, we are all very excited.”

When asked if he knew who might have purchased the winning ticket, Patel said that he is certain the lucky winner is one of his regular customers and that everyone associated with the business is excited for the newly minted millionaire.

Patel is no stranger to selling winning lottery tickets.

“I own four stores, and over the years, we’ve sold many winning lottery tickets. However, this is the biggest one we’ve been a part of,” he said in a news release on Wednesday.

Retailers who sell winning tickets receive a selling bonus of 1 percent of the prize amount. For Clarendon Food Wine Spirits, that means a bonus of $10,000.

When asked what he plans to do with the bonus, Patel said he will use the majority of the bonus to make improvements to his store.

“But first, I plan to do a little celebration with my dedicated employees," he said.

In total, nearly 17,300 winning tickets were sold, and over $1.1 million in prizes were won in Saturday evening’s Powerball drawing. Winners have one year from the date of the winning draw in which to claim their prize.

The Illinois Lottery encourages all 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.

The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday night with a jackpot of $143 million on offer.

Powerball tickets are $2 each, and players have the option to add the Powerplay for an additional $1 for the chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes.