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WILLY WONKA GOLDEN TICKET™ Scratch Ticket Makes Illinois Lottery History

May 1, 2018
Look for the new WILLY WONKA GOLDEN TICKET™ at an Illinois Lottery retailer near you.
For Immediate Release Contact: Jason Schaumburg (312) 793-3034

Instant ticket offers second chance to win trip to Las Vegas and an opportunity to also win up to $1 billion

CHICAGO — May 1, 2018 — For the first time ever, Illinois Lottery players could have the chance to win up to $1 billion with the launch of the new $10 WILLY WONKA GOLDEN TICKET™!

The Illinois Lottery’s newest scratch ticket offers players the chance to win up to $500,000 instantly. Players also can enter non-winning tickets into promotional second-chance drawings for the opportunity to participate in the BILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE™. Non-winning tickets can be entered only on the Illinois Lottery’s website. This is the first time in Illinois that a scratch ticket has offered the possibility of winning up to a $1 billion prize.

In the second-chance drawings, held in August and January, 10 Illinois Lottery players in total will win a four-day, three-night trip to Las Vegas. Winners from Illinois and other participating lotteries will then join in the BILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE™, where they’ll play for cash prizes ranging from $1,000 up to $1 billion. The Las Vegas event is expected to take place in Spring 2019.

“We are thrilled to give Illinois players this fun chance to win a trip to Las Vegas and play for up to $1 billion dollars,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Greg Smith said. “This game will be entertaining for our players, help us raise funds for education in Illinois, and it might create our biggest winner yet!”

The $10 WILLY WONKA GOLDEN TICKET™ can be purchased at Illinois Lottery retailers statewide. To find a retailer near you, download the Illinois Lottery app on your mobile device or visit: https://www.illinoislottery.com/store-locator.

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About Illinois Lottery

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $20 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes like Illinois Veterans services, the fight against breast cancer, MS research, Special Olympics and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to playing in-store, the Illinois Lottery offers online and mobile play for all draw-based Illinois Lottery games at illinoislottery.com. Players must be at least 18 years old