$3 million lottery ticket sold near O’Hare

CHICAGO (WGN) — A $3 million lottery ticket was sold on the Northwest Side near O’Hare International Airport last week, according to a spokesperson with the Illinois Lottery.

The ticket, worth $3,188,104, was purchased on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Komal Wine and Liquor located at 4628 North Cumberland Avenue in the City’s O’Hare neighborhood.

“We are so happy for the winner and for our family business!,” said Ashish Patel, owner of Komal Wine and Liquor. “We opened in 2015 and have become a popular convenience store in the neighborhood. In fact, all of our customers are locals who we see on a regular basis.”

Patel added, “While we have no idea who the winner is, I have a feeling we will know very soon. We know every customer who walks in the door, and they know each of us by name. I’m sure the winner will come into the store to share the news with us – and we can’t wait! We are so excited for them.”

For selling the winning ticket, Komal Wine and Liquor will receive a 1% bonus of the prize amount, or just over $31,000.

“This is great news,” Patel said. “We plan to put our bonus back into the business.”

The $3 million ticket was a part of Illinois Lottery’s Ultimate Diamond Jackpot, a fast play jackpot game. The jackpot begins at $75,000 and grows with each ticket sold statewide—in-store and online—until the jackpot is won.

Already this year, more than $17 million in prizes have been won by Illinois Lottery players with the Ultimate Diamond Jackpot game.

The winner has one year from the date of the winning draw to claim their prize. The Illinois Lottery encourages the winner to write their name on the back of their winning ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their prize.