LITCHFIELD – Illinois Lottery player Lisa Tyrrell is on cloud nine. The Illinois native has always been optimistic and considers herself a dreamer. Now her dreams can become a reality, because she just won $250,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
“I scratched off the ticket and it showed I won $250,000. I said ‘No way, this can’t be real,’” chuckled Tyrrell. “Sure enough, I scanned it not once, not twice, but three times, and it was real after all!”
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The top-prize-winning $250,000 Crossword scratch-off ticket was purchased at Jumpin’ Jimmy’s, located at 517 East Union Ave. in Litchfield, IL, a small town located 40 miles south of Springfield and 60 miles northwest of St. Louis.
The owner of the store recalls selling the winning ticket.
“I actually sold Lisa the ticket the other day,” explained Chandresh Patel, owner of Jumpin’ Jimmy’s in Litchfield. “When I found out she won the top prize, I couldn’t believe it! I am so happy for her.”
Tyrrell is a taxi driver and a regular customer at Patel’s store, where she particularly enjoys purchasing the crossword-themed scratch-off lottery tickets from time to time.
“I’ve always dreamed about what I would do if I won a lot of money, and now, my dreams will soon be a reality,” exclaimed Tyrrell. “I plan to use the money to buy my own car and a house. I feel like the luckiest woman alive.”
Tyrrell also plans to share some of her prize winnings with her family.
“I have eight grandkids,” shared Tyrrell. “I am so excited to be able to use a portion of the money to spoil them a little bit.”
This is also an exciting win for Jumpin’ Jimmy’s, as the store will receive a bonus of one percent of the prize amount for selling the winning ticket.
This isn’t the first time the retailer has sold a big winning lottery ticket. In June 2016, Patel sold a woman a $75,000 winning scratch-off ticket. Is Jumpin’ Jimmy’s owner the lucky charm? “I just might be.” joked Patel.
So far this year, more than 8.9 million Illinois Lottery Instant Tickets have been sold, netting players over $217 million in prizes.
The Illinois Lottery currently offers a range of Instant Ticket games priced from $1 to $50, available at approximately 7,000 retail locations across Illinois.
The Illinois Lottery encourages all winners to write their name on the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their prize. Winners should visit IllinoisLottery.com/winning for more information on how to claim their prize.
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