An Illinois man honored his late wife in his Lottery numbers and is now celebrating a win to the tune of a million bucks. The man, along with his adult kids, split the purchase of a Lotto ticket and recently won a Lotto Million 1 drawing.
“Our family likes to play the same numbers in various Lottery games from time to time, and the numbers are very near and dear to our hearts,” explained the daughter. “Since our mom passed away, we include numbers related to her that hold significant meaning for all of us.”
The ticket was purchased for the Monday, May 20 Lotto drawing at a BP gas station in Wadsworth, a town 45 miles north of Chicago.
For selling the winning ticket, the BP in Wadsworth will receive a bonus of one percent of the prize amount, or $10,000.
“I actually saw a news story that a ticket was won nearby. So when my dad called me that night and said ‘I have big news – guess what?’ I rained on his parade when I said ‘We won a million dollars?’ He hadn’t seen the article yet,” the daughter laughed. “Everyone is really excited, but nobody is more excited than my dad!”
The family has requested to remain anonymous.
The winning ticket matched all six numbers in the Lotto Million 1 drawing to score the $1 million jackpot prize. The winning numbers were: 2-8-10-18-22-28.
So far this year, over 2.9 million winning Lotto tickets have been sold, with total prizes amounting to more than $35.4 million for Illinois Lottery players.
“My dad is convinced we will win one of those huge Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots next,” laughed the daughter. “We play for fun! It’s fun to think about who we’d share our prize money with, what causes we’d donate to, what we’d splurge on. There’s no harm in dreaming… but it’s even more fun when it becomes a reality.”
You could be next! Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played three times a week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Lotto tickets can be purchased in-store, online, or on the Illinois Lottery app.
The Illinois Lottery reminds players to play for fun, not funds. Be Smart, Play Smart®. Must be 18 or older to play. Game odds available at IllinoisLottery.com.