Oak Parker Wins $8.75M Lotto Jackpot, Shares Winnings With Uncle

Oak Parker Souksavanh Phomphakoy got the ultimate Halloween treat this year: An $8.75 million check from the Illinois Lottery. 

With the six winning numbers 04-13-18-19-28-45, Phomphakoy, 34, was the winner of the Oct. 19 jackpot. He will split with his uncle, Khamphovy Chanthavong, who gave him the opportunity to move to the United States from Southeast Asia over 10 years ago. Chanthavong is a Southeast Asian refugee who moved to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. 

Keep up with local news in Oak Park and River Forest: Sign up for our free email newsletter, then like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.

"I could not have come here without my uncle's help and I am extremely grateful," Phomphakoy said in a news release from the Illinois Lottery.

A regular Lotto player, Phomphakoy was with a friend when he bought his ticket at the Clark gas station at 330 Chicago Ave. in Oak Park, according to the release. The day after the drawing, his friend read that someone from Oak Park had won and told him to check to see if the numbers matched. After finding the winning numbers on Facebook, he immediately told his uncle the news.

"I told my uncle right away and at first he didn't believe me. Once I showed him the ticket he became speechless. When I told him I wanted to share the winnings with him, he hugged me tightly," he said. 

Phomphakoy, who studies English at Triton College in River Grove, has been working as a manager at his uncle's restaurant in Oak Park for the past 10 years. He plans to buy a house and enroll in additional courses with his winnings, according to the release.