Winner of $7M McHenry VFW Queen of Hearts jackpot wants anonymity

McHENRY, Ill. (WLS) -- The day after the McHenry VFW's $7 million Queen of Hearts drawing, the hall is crowded once again, but this time for the weekly bingo game. The bingo jackpots are quite a bit less than the $7 million on the line Tuesday night for the Queen of Hearts drawing.

A regular who goes by the name 'Papa Don' had his ticket pulled this afternoon. "It's a gift certificate worth $5," said Don.

Quite a difference from last night. After nearly two years of waiting for a winner, they finally pulled the Queen of Hearts to a winner known only as Lori S., who wants to remain anonymous.

RELATED: Winning ticket drawn for $7M McHenry VFW Queen of Hearts jackpot

Dwane Lungren, the VFW manager, has spoken to the winner several times on the phone since last night.

"We're trying to meet with her today or tomorrow to finalize the whole transaction with her," said Lungren.

He refuses to give up any information about her, but there are lots of people digging!

Rhonda Trebolo, a regular here says she doesn't know who Lori S. is, but "everyone is trying to find her."

Paul Plancon says he's looking for her also. Why? "She's my new bride," says Plancon, who is already married.

In addition to the $4.2 million Lori S. collects, the VFW gets $1.2 million, which will help fund programs for veterans in addition to a beer garden they plan to build and a new parking lot.

The publicity for the raffle has also helped attract at least 25 new members to the VFW.

Regulars say the experience has been great for most everyone in this community. But many are still happy to see things return to normal for a while.

The next McHenry VFW Queen of Hearts drawing will begin in January with a starting jackpot of over $3 million due in part to the ticket sales from Tuesday night's final drawing.