Community Corner
$3.25 Million Lotto Winner is Still Out There
No one has come forward with the $3.25 million Lotto ticket that was sold in Palatine but the winner is out there. Now, the big question is, who is it?
No one has come forward to claim the $3.25 million Illinois Lottery ticket just yet but the man who bought the ticket at Mr. A’s Liquor World is out there and he is well aware of his winnings.
“Of course he is excited,” said Sis, the store clerk at Mr. A’s in Palatine. According to Sis, the lucky Lotto winner returned to the Palatine convenience store within days of the Sept. 8 drawing to share the news of his good fortune and thank the man behind the counter who printed the ticket. “He was really excited, he just told me that he had won and said thanks,” Sis said.
A regular customer at Mr. A’s Liquor World at 855 N. Quentin Road, the store clerk said the $3.25 million winner buys about one a lotto ticket every week. “I do know who it is but I’m not going to say, I’m not supposed to,” Sis said the winner asked employees to keep his identity a secret.
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Mr. A’s Liquor World only sold 17 Quick Pick tickets before the Sept. 8 drawing. “It was the only ticket I sold that week,” Sis said, “I didn’t win but I sold the winning ticket, so I guess that makes me lucky too.”
The $1 computer generated ticket, matched all six numbers drawn: 05-06-14-25-40-52.
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Almost 10 days later, the $3.25 winner still has not come forward. Illinois Lottery spokesperson, Mike Lang said, “Most winners of prizes at this level wait at least several days before claiming, and seek professional investment and/or legal counsel, which we recommend.”
According to Lang, the winner has one year from the drawing date (Sept. 8) to claim the money but most people don’t wait more than a month.
The Palatine convenience store, Mr. A’s Liquor world will get its $32,500 bonus or about one percent of the winnings regardless of whether prize is claimed or not.
“Unclaimed tickets are usually lost or accidentally thrown out,” said Lang. But according to Sis, that is definitely not what happened with the $3.25 million ticket sold in Palatine. Sis said, “He’s got it and he knows about it, I guess he’s just waiting.”
