CHICAGO – An Illinois Lottery player is basking in joy after winning the top prize of $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
“It’s the craziest thing to ever happen to me - I still can’t stop shaking,” expressed the lucky winner, who has requested to stay anonymous. “My wife was just saying ‘You’ve got to stop buying those things.’ So you can imagine how ecstatic I was to be able to tell her I won!”
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The $1 million winning scratch-off ticket was purchased at Phillips 66, located at 102 S. Lincoln Street in Philo, IL, a small town located eight miles south of Champaign - home to just over 1,300 residents.
“The majority of our customers are local residents, so I can guarantee that if the winner walked into our store, we’d recognize him,” declared Umesh Patel, manager at Phillips 66 in Philo. “We are so excited that the winner is from our little city.”
As part of his daily routine, the lucky winner picked up a cup of coffee and a $20 instant lottery ticket at the local gas station before heading to work.
“I was on my way to work when I realized my scratch-off ticket was a $1 million winner, and I pulled a U-turn in the middle of the road to go back home and tell my wife,” exclaimed the anonymous winner, who has worked in the construction industry for nearly 30 years. “When I showed my wife the winning ticket, she did a triple-take. She then asked me if she was dreaming, and I told her, ‘I hope not.’”
The lucky player won the top prize on a $2,000 Frenzy Multiplier ticket.
While the winner has tried his luck on a variety of scratch-off tickets, he said he chose the $2,000 Frenzy Multiplier intentionally. “A friend of mine mentioned that he won a couple times on this specific ticket, so I decided to buy one, and thank goodness I did.”
When asked what he plans to do with the money, the lucky winner shared, “We’re thrilled to now have a college fund for our kids. This money is a joy and a relief; it makes the future feel so much easier.”
This is also a big win for Phillips 66 in Philo. For selling the winning ticket, the store receives a bonus of one percent of the prize amount, or $10,000.
This isn’t the first time the retailer has sold a big winning lottery ticket. In September 2021, Phillips 66 in Philo sold a $100,000 winning Diamond Crossword 10X scratch-off ticket.
When asked what the store will do with the cash bonus, Patel shared proudly, “Just like the last time when we had a big win, we plan to share some of the bonus with our two devoted employees.”
So far this year, more than 55 million Illinois Lottery Instant Tickets were sold, netting players over $1.2 billion in prizes.
You could be next! The Illinois Lottery currently offers more than 50 different Instant Ticket games at over 7,000 retail locations across Illinois.
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