CHICAGO — A gas station in a small town southwest of Chicago has sold a winning Lotto ticket worth a cool $1 million.
The winning ticket was sold at Citgo, located at 8755 W. 79th Street in Justice, IL. It matched all six Lotto Million 1 numbers in the Thursday, July 10 drawing: 5-11-16-23-25-39.
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Citgo, formerly known as Beahan Oil, has been a fixture in the small community for over 22 years. The store’s owner hopes the lucky ticket was purchased by a local customer.
“I was out of the country when I got the call from my manager. We have no clue who the winner might be, but I have a strong feeling it was a regular Lotto player from our area,” said William Beahan, owner of the Citgo gas station. “Whoever it is, we’re very happy for the winner and look forward to celebrating with them.”
Retailers who sell winning lottery tickets also have good reasons to celebrate as these wins bring their business a cash selling bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Citgo, that means a bonus of $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.
“The gas station has been under construction for nearly five years, and business has been tough—so selling this winning ticket couldn’t have come at a better time,” added Beahan.
When asked how he plans to use the bonus, Beahan said, “I’ll use a portion of the money to reinvest in the business, give a bonus to my employees, and launch a special gas promotion to thank our customers.”
The lucky Lotto winner has one year from the date of the winning draw in which to claim their prize.
This marks the fourth time this year an Illinois Lottery player has won $1 million or more playing Lotto. On February 8, a player won a $10.4 million jackpot with a ticket purchased at a Mobil gas station in Des Plaines. Just days later, on February 17, another player won $1 million with Lotto Million 1, followed by a second $1 million Lotto Million 1 winner on April 3.
Already this year, over 3.4 million winning Lotto game tickets have been sold, with total prizes amounting to more than $25.6 million for Illinois Lottery players.
Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played three times a week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The estimated jackpot for tonight’s drawing, Saturday, July 12, is $11.7 million.
Tickets for the game can be purchased in-store, online, or on the Illinois Lottery app. For more information or to buy tickets online, please visit IllinoisLottery.com.
