EBENSBURG – An Ebensburg area couple will likely claim the $7.37 million Match 6 Lotto jackpot drawn last week.

Outside their home late Sunday afternoon, Dr. John M. Vasil indicated that his wife, Julie D. Vasil, was the winner. But they declined further comment until making a phone call to seek legal advice.

Julie Vasil said an attorney, who she declined to identify, advised against making any statements at this time. She asked that her family’s privacy be respected.

Names of Pennsylvania lottery winners are made public after the winning ticket is submitted and validated. But as of Friday, lottery officials did not have the identity of who won the record-setting Match 6 jackpot.

On Friday, lottery officials announced that a winning ticket for Thursday’s Match 6 drawing, with six matching numbers – 08, 10, 15, 21, 35 and 42 – was sold at Nic’s Tobacco, 2608 Bigler Ave. in Northern Cambria, making the store eligible for a $10,000.

Nic’s Tobacco owner Terry Dandrea said Saturday that he could not confirm the name of the winner because he had only heard rumors. Dandrea also said that the winning ticket had not been returned to his store.

In Friday’s announcement about the sale of the winning ticket, lottery officials advised the winning ticket holder to file a claim at lottery headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County, or at one of its seven area offices.

The jackpot prize in the Match 6 Lotto game has been climbing since mid-May. The game’s previous record was a $6.9 million prize won in the March 23, 2007, drawing.

The odds of winning the Match 6 Lotto jackpot are roughly 1-in-4.6 million, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.