Hoffman Estates 7-Eleven owned by Glendale Hts. man sells $2.45 million Lotto ticket

Editor's note: The story has been changed to correct a mistake about the amount of money the owner of the Hoffman Estates 7-Eleven receives for selling the winning ticket.

A Hoffman Estates 7-Eleven that opened in December has sold a Lotto ticket that won $2.45 million in Monday's drawing.

Franchisee Kosal Yim of Glendale Heights, whose new business is expected to receive a 1% ($24,500) payout, said he doesn't know how rare it is to sell a winning ticket.

"I'm new to this," he said Tuesday morning. "It was a big surprise to me and my wife. It's a good boost to us. This comes at the right time for us."

Yim said it isn't exclusively the financial side of the ticket sale that makes this such a big deal for a new business that dared to open in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's just free advertising, too," he said.

A few customers were asking him about it Tuesday, but he had not yet learned anything of the identity of the winner. He said there are several customers who play the same Illinois Lottery games - and numbers - every day, and he hopes the winner turns out to be one of them.

Though a resident of Glendale Heights, Yim said the location of the gas station and convenience store at 2250 W. Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates seemed ideal to him.

Monday's Lotto numbers that were matched by the winning ticket are 12, 16, 18, 20, 39 and 50. A seventh, "Extra Shot" number of 16 was not matched.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Lottery said the winning ticketholder had not immediately come forward Tuesday. She added that winners of big prizes often take some time to identify themselves and have the right to remain anonymous if they wish.