Photo Caption: Bhupendra Patel, Owner of Clarendon Food Wine Spirits in Chicago, takes a celebratory photo after selling a $1 million winning Powerball ticket.
Someone in the Chicago area is about to receive a seven-figure payday.
A Powerball ticket worth $1 million was purchased at Clarendon Food Wine Spirits, located at 4183 N. Clarendon Ave. in Chicago for Saturday night’s drawing.
The lucky winner matched all five numbers, 11-24-58-66-67, to win the $1 million prize.
“An Illinois Lottery representative came to my store Monday morning to congratulate us – that’s how my staff and I found out that we sold a winning $1 million Powerball ticket,” exclaimed Bhupendra Patel, Owner of Clarendon Food Wine Spirits in Chicago. “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 exclaimed “Yes, we sure do! It’s one of our regular customers, and we are ecstatic about it.”
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 – thanks to our loyal customers,” added Patel.
Retailers who sell winning tickets also have another reason to celebrate, as these wins bring their business a cash selling bonus of one 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 “I’m going to use the majority of the money to upgrade the store. But first, I plan to do a little celebration with my dedicated employees.”
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 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.
The next Powerball drawing is tonight, March 1, 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.
About the Illinois Lottery:
Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $24 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes. For more information, visit IllinoisLottery.com.
