CHICAGO, October 13, 2023 – Residents in the small town of Woodhull (population of 750) are buzzing with excitement after a $3 million winning Illinois Lottery ticket was purchased at a local gas station.
A lucky Illinois Lottery player purchased a 200X Payout Instant Ticket for $30, and scored the top prize of $3 million.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The winning ticket was purchased at a BP gas station, located at 111 NW 5th St in Woodhull, which is 30 miles southeast of Moline, and 65 miles northwest of Peoria.
“I am so excited but still can’t believe it!” exclaimed Jennifer Damer, store manager at the BP in Woodhull. “It’s so surprising to me that our local, little gas station sold a ticket that won such a big prize!”
“We are the go-to stop for many townfolk, including farmers who live nearby and truck drivers passing through,” added Damer. “Most of them even sit for a while and enjoy our freshly-made breakfast biscuits and chat about the news and weather each morning. In fact, if our regulars aren’t here in the mornings, we know something is wrong.”
When asked if she knows who may have won the prize, Damer chuckled and said, “Lately, all anyone can talk about is the $3 million winning lottery ticket - everyone in our tiny town is trying to figure out who the lucky winner is.”
“We have an idea of who it could be, and we especially hope it’s someone local. But ultimately, I would really like to congratulate whoever won, and share in the excitement of this moment with them,” expressed Damer.
For selling the winning ticket, the BP station will receive a cash bonus of one percent of the prize amount, or $30,000.
“We are so thrilled for the winner,” shared Philip Edat, owner of the BP in Woodhull. “And we are so happy to get a little piece of the pie, as well.”
When asked what he plans to do with the cash bonus for selling the winning ticket, Edat said, “Some of the bonus will be used for improvements to our store, but more importantly, I plan to share the bonus with my seven loyal and dedicated employees. This way, we all get to celebrate the exciting win!”
Winners have one year from the date of the winning draw in which to claim their prize. The Illinois Lottery encourages all lucky winners to write their name on the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their prize.
So far this year, over 52 million winning scratch-off lottery tickets have been sold, netting Illinois Lottery players over $1 billion in total prizes.
You could be next! The Illinois Lottery currently offers more than 50 different Instant Ticket games at over 7,000 retail locations across Illinois.
###
About the Illinois Lottery
Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $24 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes. For more information, visit IllinoisLottery.com.
More like this:
