$12.5 million Lotto ticket sold at Elgin store

The owners of Total Liquors in Elgin are celebrating after learning the store sold a winning $12.5 million Lotto jackpot ticket.

Bharat and Chetan Patel didn't know their store at 823 Summit St. had sold the winner for Saturday's game until another business owner called them just before midnight Saturday.

"When I took the call, I was in total shock and disbelief," Bharat Patel said in a news release from the Illinois Lottery. He checked the lottery's website and saw his store listed as having sold the winner.

"My disbelief turned into sheer joy!"

One reason for happiness is that the store will receive a 1% bonus, or $125,000. Patel said he intends to reinvest the money in the store, which the Patels have owned for five years.

The winning numbers were 13-15-28-29-31-44.

It is the largest winner the store has sold, he said. Patel suspects the winner is a regular customer who frequently plays the game at the store. "It's the only game that he plays," Patel said.

"Our phone is ringing off the hook, and customers have been stopping by to congratulate us," Patel said. "It's been overwhelming but also very exciting."