DES PLAINES, Illinois — Michael Ernst was watching the news early Saturday morning when he saw images of his local gas station flash on the screen.
“I got goosebumps,” said Ernst, 61. “I was just thinking, oh my gosh, I bought my ticket there Friday morning.”
Ernst said he jumped off the couch, ran to his wallet, and checked the lottery ticket.
“It wasn’t even close,” he said. “It didn’t even have one number.”
Ernst was one of dozens of customers who stopped by this suburban Chicago Speedway store on Monday, part of a popular gas and convenience chain, days after a customer there pulled the winning numbers for the nearly $1 Mega Millions jackpot. .34 billion. It is the second largest in Mega Millions history and the third highest lottery prize ever.
The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14. The unnamed ticket holder beat the 1 in 303 million chance of winning the jackpot.
“We haven’t heard from the winner yet,” Illinois lottery director Harold Mays said in a statement on Saturday. “We don’t know if they are aware that they have won this incredible prize. So we tell all our players: check your tickets.”
Mega Millions jackpot:Lucky Illinois Ticket Wins $1.34 Billion, Second Largest in Game History
The jackpot had been rolling since April 16 and attracted national attention. The New York Islanders bought $50,000 worth of tickets. Raising Cane’s CEO has spent $100,000 to buy employee tickets. And hours before the draw, hundreds of people lined up to buy tickets at a “lucky” liquor store in Hawthorne, California.
By Saturday morning, the line at the lotto vending machine at Des Plaines Speedway was so long that it meandered through the store, said Lisa Lepore, 61. Lepore said she works as a bus driver and regularly refuels at the location, next to O’Hare International Airport. .
When she heard the news early Saturday, Lepore wondered if any of her colleagues had gotten rich overnight, she said.
“I hope someone who needs it really wins because it would be a game-changer for them,” she said.
As Lepore spoke, others trickled past the machine, sandwiched between the ice cream freezer on one side and the donut case and beef jerky on the other. Some scanned old tickets. Others bought new ones. The small trash can on the floor was overflowing with discarded paper strips and scratch cards.
Other customers—many airline uniforms—purchased milkshakes and cigarettes, and employees sold pizzas and reloaded coffee machines.
Don Barrett, 64, stopped at the Speedway while refueling and slipped a bill into the lotto machine.
“I thought I’d try my luck,” Barrett said. “I didn’t even know it was this location. I just knew it was somewhere in the suburbs.”
Keith Wilborn, 50, said he first heard the news when his landlady asked if he’d won. Wilborn said he works for United Airlines and stops by the Speedway every day for soft drinks and gas.
“It’s nice to see it around — the money,” Wilborn said.
Wilborn said he has bought a few tickets in the past. But he didn’t buy a ticket on Monday.
“I can’t see lightning strike twice in one place,” he said.
Ernst, a resident of Chicago, said he commutes to the suburbs for his job at a local factory and buys lotto tickets at the Speedway several times a week.
“They’re all workers. And I see a lot of regulars,” Ernst said Monday as he bought a new ticket during his lunch break. “I wish that card had been mine.”
Des Plaines, Illinois, is predominantly white and has a population of nearly 60,000, according to the US Census Bureau. The median household income, in 2020 dollars, is $74,000.
The mystery winner has one year from the date of the draw to claim their prize, according to the Illinois Lottery. The Speedway will also receive a $500,000 cash bonus.
“Of all the places across the country that sell raffle tickets, I can’t believe I bought my ticket on the day of the draw at the same place where the winning ticket was sold,” Ernst said. “I really narrowed the field, you know? But I still came across empty.”
