Evelyn Fouts (left) and Frank Hosticka, employees at Shaws Marketplace in Prophetstown, are feeling jolly after selling a winning Powerball ticket worth $500,000.
PROPHETSTOWN, Ill. - One lucky Illinois Lottery player will be celebrating Christmas $500,000 richer.
The winning ticket was purchased at Shaws Marketplace, located at 214 Washington St. in Prophetstown.
The winner matched four numbers and the Powerball, plus they added the game’s ‘Power Play’ feature to win $500,000 for the Wednesday, Dec. 14 drawing. The winning numbers were: 36-51-59-66-68 and Powerball 25.
"What a great way to celebrate Christamas," said Evelyn Fouts, Manager of Shaws Marketplace. "I don’t know who bought the winning ticket but Prophetstown is a tiny town with less than 2,000 people - we don’t even have a stoplight - so the probability that it’s someone from our hometown is highly likely."
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This is now the eighth Illinois Lottery player who has won a prize of $500,000 or more playing Powerball so far this year.
"I’ve been with this store for nearly 20 years and I’ve experienced many lottery jackpot celebrations, however, this is the largest winning ticket we’ve ever sold here - it’s pretty magical," exclaimed Fouts.
Retailers who sell winning tickets also have another reason to celebrate, as these wins bring their business a cash selling bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Shaws Marketplace, that means a bonus of $5,000.
In total, more than 11,300 winning tickets were sold, and nearly $670,000 in prizes were won in Wednesday evening’s Powerball drawing.
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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.
The next Powerball drawing is Saturday, Dec. 17, with a jackpot of $149 million on offer.