Lottery warning to check numbers for unclaimed $1 million Lotto prize and ticket bought at a gas station

A MYSTERY new millionaire has been urged to claim their winning Lotto prize money.

The $1 million Lotto Million 1 ticket was sold at a gas station in Illinois.

An ARCO outlet in Chicago is "overjoyed" to learn a customer is about to have their bank account considerably boosted, said Illinois Lottery.

They recently sold a $1 million winning Lotto ticket in the same week one of their regular customers scooped $10,000 on an Instant Ticket.

“I can’t believe we’ve had two big winners in the past week," said Jackpaul Singh, owner of ARCO in West Rogers Park.

"I don’t know if it’s good karma or luck, but I look forward to seeing more winners walk through our doors!

“The news that we sold a $1 million winning Lotto ticket came just after one of our regular customers won $10,000 on a scratch-off ticket right here in front of me."

The lucky player bought their Lotto Million 1 ticket - matching all six numbers - in the July 6 drawing, to win the $1 million prize.

The winning numbers were: 1-8-12-16-28-49.

I don’t know if it’s good karma or luck, but I look forward to seeing more winners walk through our doors.

Singh was asked by reporters if he had any idea of the newly-minted millionaire's identity.

The retailer said he was unsure, but he was "definitely curious" to find out.

"I want them to come in and tell us so we can celebrate with them," he added.

"I can’t wait to see the look of joy on their face.”

MILLIONS WON

More than 37,000 winning Lotto tickets were sold for the July 6 drawing.

Nine fortunate Illinois Lottery players have already won a million dollars or more playing Lotto this year.

The gas station will receive a bonus of one per cent of the prize amount for selling the winning ticket.

What is Lotto?

Hundreds of thousands of people win the lottery every year...

Lotto in Illinois consists of a $2 jackpot game - offering players three chances to become a millionaire.

That means that each play enters the player's numbers into three separate drawings, said Illinois Lottery.

This includes the Jackpot drawing with prizes from $2 up to the jackpot.

The other two drawings are Lotto Million 1, and Lotto Million 2, each offering winners a prize of $1 million.

Players choose six numbers between one-50, or select the Quick Pick option.

Winning numbers are selected using an online digital draw system which is based on a random number generator program.

Lotto drawings are held on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings at 9:22 pm CT.

Results can be found on the Illinois Lottery website, www.illinoislottery.com and via the Illinois Lottery app.

Your state may well offer its own lottery game, which is promoted to help raise funds for local projects.

There are currently 45 U.S. states with an official state lottery as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“I’ve always loved this store and business couldn’t be better," added a thrilled Singh, when quizzed about operating the station.

"The neighborhood is super diverse, very family-oriented, and has blessed us with an amazing, supportive customer base.”

Whoever the mystery Lotto winner is, they have just one year from the date of the winning draw to claim their prize, warned lottery bosses.

That ticket-holder should immediately write their name on the back of their ticket, and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their prize.

Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played three times a week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

The Illinois Lottery, founded in 1974, has already contributed more than $24 billion to the State’s Common School Fund in support of K-12 public education in Illinois since 1985.

The U.S. Sun has more on three lucky winners who collectively took home nearly $220,000.

Plus, a Powerball winner in Delaware has won $50,000 - but has yet to claim their prize.

LUMP SUM VS ANNUITY

Lottery prizes: Lump sum vs Annuity

Lottery winners need to decide whether to take a big jackpot as a lump sum or as annuity payments.

What is a lump sum?

• Lottery winners can accept a one-time cash payout.
• Although a winner would lose a chunk of their payout to taxes, they would likely lose more over time with annual payments.

What are annual payments?