CHICAGO - A Chicago man was left stunned after winning $1 million on a $10 scratch-off lottery ticket he purchased at a Mobil gas station in the city's West Ridge neighborhood.

Regular customer wins big

Ashur Al Rahib, a regular customer at the Mobil station at 2500 W. Peterson Ave., said he let store associate Romy Singh randomly select the ticket for him.

"I wasn’t sure which lottery ticket to pick," Al Rahib told the Illinois Lottery. "Romy showed me a few options but covered the names of the games, so I couldn’t see them. I randomly pointed at one – and I can’t believe the ticket I chose has made me a millionaire!"

Singh said he was thrilled to learn his longtime customer won big.

"Always remember to give back"

"Ashur is a good and hardworking man," Singh said. "After realizing his ticket won $1 million, he came back and told me, ‘You gave me good luck, thank you!’ He was so happy, and I’m very happy for him."

Al Rahib said he checked his ticket every morning before claiming his prize, making sure he wasn’t dreaming. He plans to use his winnings to open a meat market and bakery, purchase a small building, and donate to his church.

"If you win, do good things with the money – not just for yourself, but for other people, too," he said. "Always remember to give back."

The Mobil station that sold the winning ticket will receive a one percent bonus of $10,000. The store has had recent luck, previously selling $25,000 and $50,000 winning tickets in the last two years.

So far in 2024, Illinois Lottery players have won more than $279 million in prizes from over 10.7 million scratch-off tickets sold.

The Source: The information in this story came from the Illinois Lottery.