MCHENRY (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The VFW in McHenry selected a winner Tuesday night in its Queen of Hearts raffle, but the person who stands to pocket nearly $2.75 million was not present at the drawing.
The winner -- known only as "Fred K" -- had 24 hours to come forward and verify his ticket to claim his share of winnings, organizers announced.
It took 14 draws, but McHenry VFW Senior Vice Commander Ben Keefe finally drew the winning ticket.
While it was a long and dramatic drawing, Keefe was worried it would go longer. That’s because if the envelope containing one of the playing cards had already been picked on a ticket previously drawn, the next ticket drawn with that envelope number wouldn’t count.
The total jackpot was nearly $5.5 million. Keefe said 10 percent of that will roll over to the next raffle, while 40 percent will go to the McHenry VFW and to other veterans organizations.