Three Lottery Players Win $250,000 Each On Crossword Game, One Winner In Cahokia

CHICAGO – Three Illinois Lottery players tried their luck with a $10 scratch-off ticket and wound up in the lottery winner’s circle - each scoring a $250,000 top-prize win. One of the winners was at the MotoMart store at 1117 Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia.

The three lucky players each won a quarter of a million dollars on a $250,000 Crossword game. The winning scratch-off tickets were purchased at lottery retail locations across the state - ranging from Northern Illinois all the way down to a suburb outside of St. Louis.

The manager at MotoMart in Cahokia shared his excitement from selling one of the winning tickets.

Photo courtesy: MotoMart, 1117 Camp Jackson Rd, Cahokia, IL (Google Maps)

“It’s quite thrilling that someone won a big prize right here in Cahokia,” exclaimed John Fraser, manager at the Cahokia MotoMart. “Our regular customers tend to think the big wins happen in Chicago, so we’re very delighted that someone in our small town won!”

When asked how he heard his store had sold the winning ticket, Fraser shared excitedly, “The President at MotoMart actually sent us an email congratulating us for selling a top prize winning ticket. It’s such an honor to be recognized as a ‘lucky store’.”

Another store buzzing with excitement is Kelley’s Market in Cortland.

Photo courtesy: Kelley’s Market, 13485 Illinois Route 38, Cortland, IL

“I’ve been the assistant manager at this store for over five years, and this is the first time that we’ve sold this big of a winning ticket.” shared Kailyn Emanuelson. “I grew up here in Cortland and this store has been a community staple forever. The majority of our customers live in town and I know most of them by name. That is why I’m almost 100% certain that the winner is one of our regulars."

This is also a big win for each of the retailers. For selling the winning tickets, the stores will receive a bonus of one percent of the prize amount – or $2,500 in this case.

So far this year, over 54 million winning scratch-off lottery tickets have been sold, netting Illinois Lottery players over $1 billion in total prizes.

Winners have one year from the date of the winning draw in which to claim their prize. The Illinois Lottery encourages all 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. Winners should visit IllinoisLottery.com/winning for more information on how to claim their prizes.

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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.