A regular customer entered Shar’s Armanetti Fine Wines and Spirits, 222 W. Main St. in Carpentersville, and bought a $30 Titanium Black 7s Instant Lottery ticket. She became the store’s second winner in three years, winning $3 million.
Lottery officials said that in 2023, 20 other Illinois Lottery players became millionaires after scratching instant tickets, including a man who recently won $2 million from a scratch-off ticket he bought at a Morris gas station. A woman won $400,000 from an instant lottery ticket she purchased at a grocery store in Wood Dale.
“We must be a lucky location for Lottery players,” store owner Dhiren Patel said in a lottery press release. “Three years ago, in March of 2020, we had a $6 million Instant Ticket winner. It was during COVID, so business was quiet and sadly, we didn’t get to celebrate that win with the customer – so this is an especially exciting win for our store!”
“She scratched the ticket right in front of me after purchasing it and I witnessed the shocked look on her face,” Patel continued in the release. “She then came over closer to me and excitedly said ‘Pinch me, I need to make sure this is real!’”
Patel’s store will receive a 1% bonus ($30,000) for selling the winning ticket. He plans to use the money for his children’s college funds and store improvements.
Nearly 48 million winning instant tickets have been sold in Illinois in 2023.