Community Corner

Glenview Bartender Wins Lottery Jackpot

The single mother has been buying tickets with a friend for years.

Congrats to Potato Creek Johnny’s bartender Athena Korines, who along with long-time friend Rob Devine, won $1 million from the Illinois Lottery!

Korines and Devine have been playing together for the past year and a half, according to a press release from the lottery. They bought this ticket at Chestnut Wine and Spirits in Glenview.

Korines, 51, is a single mother of three from Elk Grove Village. Devine is a 61-year-old contractor from Des Plaines.

The following is the full press release from the Illinois Lottery:

A year and a half ago, long-time friends Athena Korines and Rob Devine decided to occasionally pool their money and play Illinois Lottery instant tickets together.  “Rob picks up a couple of tickets and brings them to the bar where I work for us to scratch them.  It’s become a fun routine,” Korines said.  Last week their routine paid off in a big way when Korines scratched a $1million winning Fabulous Fortune instant ticket.  “I didn’t believe it was real!  When it finally sunk in, we signed the back of the ticket, put it in my purse and drove straight to the Illinois Lottery Prize Center in Des Plaines.”

Korines, 51, lives in Elk Grove Village and is a bartender at Potato Creek Johnny’s in Glenview.  A single mother of three, her plans for the windfall include sharing with her children and buying a house.  “This win will give me such peace of mind,” she said.

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Devine, 61, is a self -employed remodeling contractor.  He has lived in Des Plaines for 35 years.  He plans to invest his share of the windfall for retirement.  The two friends chose to take their prize as a one-time cash option of $600,000, less required withholding taxes. 

Devine bought the winning ticket at Chestnut Wine and Spirits, 1762 Waukegan Road in Glenview.  “I chose this ticket because it was a new game,” he said.  Chestnut Wine and Spirits will receive a $10,000 bonus, equal to 1 percent of the prize amount, for selling the winning ticket.

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Fabulous Fortune is a $20 instant ticket with a top prize of $4,000,000.  There are still three $1,000,000 prizes and two $4,000,000 prizes unclaimed.  For more information, please visit www.illinoislottery.com.


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