On a whim, a woman from Illinois purchased a lottery ticket while grocery shopping, only to later forget it was tucked away in her purse. However, when she looked at the numbers, she was gobsmacked to find out she had won a huge payday.
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According to the Illinois Lottery, the woman (who wishes to remain anonymous) was shopping at a Jewel-Osco grocery store in Elmhurst on October 20.
“While on my way to visit my Aunt, I made a quick stop at Jewel to pick up a few groceries. Before heading out the door, I grabbed a quick pick Lucky Day Lotto ticket,” she recalled to lottery officials.
However, she tucked away the ticket in her purse and “forgot all about it.”
The woman admitted that it took her several days to realize she had won, as she discovered the ticket buried at the bottom of her purse. She recounted how she opened her lottery app, scanned the ticket, and checked to see if it was a winner.
“I immediately saw ‘$1,000,000’ on the screen and I was in total shock,” she explained. “I scanned the ticket one more time to double-check, and when it showed ‘$1,000,000’ again, I instantly started crying.
The lucky winner couldn’t help but pause to pinch herself.
“I thought, ‘This is unbelievable.’ ”
The Lucky Lottery Winner Already Has Plans For Her Million Dollar Payday
She correctly matched all five numbers in the winning Lucky Day Lotto draw: 2-3-24-25-28. According to officials, this marks the ninth player from Illinois this year to win $1 million or more through Lucky Day Lotto.
Of course, a million-dollar payday automatically leads to many “treat yourself” thoughts. The Illinois woman quickly thought of a lavish way she would use part of the cash prize.
It seems an annual trip to the Emerald Isle is in order…
“What I’m most excited about is being able to afford annual trips to my favorite place in the whole world: Ireland,” the woman revealed. “The landscape is stunning and I’m thrilled that I can now look forward to these trips every year.”
Established in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has had a major influence on public education in the state. Since 1985, it has contributed over $25 billion to the Common School Fund, benefiting K-12 education throughout Illinois.