An Illinois resident's ordinary weekend turned extraordinary when they won a $900,000 Lucky Day Lotto jackpot. The winning ticket was purchased at Stop N Shop located on North Huffman Boulevard in Rockford, as reported by ABC 7 Chicago. The lucky numbers drawn on Saturday evening were 8, 11, 14, 33, 34.
"The winner came in Sunday morning, scanned the ticket, and gasped and his face turned bright red when he realized he was holding a jackpot-winning ticket," Raj Patel, the store manager at Stop N Shop, expressed in a statement obtained by NBC Chicago. Patel described the winner as a local and a frequent visitor of the shop, coming in "a few times a week."
Raj Patel shared the excitement of the winning moment, "The winner was absolutely thrilled. 'It's a nice life-changing amount,' he told me," according to ABC 7 Chicago. The fortune doesn't end with the winner, however; Stop N Shop will be awarded a selling bonus of $9,000, which is one percent of the prize amount.
Patel offered a piece of advice for other lottery players, "Dream big and take a chance on a ticket. This just proved that dreams can come true and I'm so happy for the winner," he stated in an interview with ABC 7 Chicago. In Illinois, lottery winners of $250,000 or greater have the option to request anonymity concerning their name and municipality, adding a layer of privacy to their newfound wealth.
