Decatur Resident Wins $100,000 Holiday Magic Lottery Prize!
DECATUR, IL – Decatur resident Jerry Purlee was going to stop for gas, but the first station he stopped at was too crowded. He decided to go across the street to Huck’s, where he bought a Holiday Magic instant ticket, put it in his lunchbox and forgot about it.
He got home, discovered the ticket, scratched it and instantly won $100,000. Purlee, a highway maintainer with the Illinois Department of Transportation, waited 45 minutes for his wife to get home and surprised her with news of his big win.
The couple plans to use their windfall to pay bills and take a trip to Europe for a river cruise. “The stars just aligned, and things worked out in my favor!” Purlee said.
Since playing the lottery on and off for about 20 years, Purlee’s won $500 twice and $50 here and there, he said. He typically plays Lucky Day Lotto but, inspired by the season, decided to purchase a holiday instant ticket instead.
Purlee purchased his winning Holiday Magic ticket at Huck’s, 925 E. Clinton Ave., in Farmer City. The retailer received a bonus of $1,000, or one percent of the prize amount, for selling the winning ticket.
Holiday Magic is a $5 instant ticket that features eight top prizes of $100,000, four of which have not been claimed. For more information, please visit illinoislottery.com.
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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.