‘Lucky Family’ Wins $12 Million On A Scratch-Off Lottery Ticket In Niles
Photo caption: Part of the Lucky Family is this grateful son, after his family won $12 million on a scratch-off Illinois Lottery ticket
CHICAGO, Month 29, 2024 – An Illinois Lottery player’s family loves to give them a hard time for buying the occasional scratch-off ticket. Well, the family is now eating their words after the player recently won $12 million on a scratch-off ticket from a Jewel-Osco in Niles.
The player, who is splitting the earnings with their two sons, is feeling grateful and lucky.
“It feels like it was fate,” explains the Illinois Lottery player, who has requested to stay anonymous. “I was actually about to purchase a different ticket when I noticed the 20 Years of Cash ticket number matched my birthday, so I decided to try that one. Boy, am I glad I did!”
“I immediately called my son and squealed ‘I think I won big!' Next thing I know, he’s yelling at his fiancée to get out of the bathroom so they could come over to see the ticket,” laughed the winner.
The son added, “I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, so we had to rush over. I wanted to read the rules, double check the numbers, and make sure it was, in fact, a winning ticket. It’s safe to say, while we’re all still in shock, we feel like one very lucky family.”
“My sons don’t play the lottery and they love to give me a hard time when I buy my tickets occasionally, so I’d always joke with them saying, ‘When I win, I won’t give you any!’,” laughed the player.
“I don’t need a lot of things, that’s something I’ve always said and believed. I just want time with my family. As I get older, the memories and time together is even more important for me,” the player said.
When asked what they plan to do with the tremendous jackpot, they added, “We are going to splurge and take our whole family on a vacation so we can celebrate together.”
The $12 million winning 20 Years of Cash scratch-off ticket was purchased at Jewel-Osco, located at 7900 North Milwaukee Ave. in Niles. This was the last top prize available on the 20 Years of Cash scratch-off lottery ticket, which launched in February 2020.
This is also a big win for the retailer that sold the winning ticket, as the store will receive a selling bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Jewel-Osco in Niles, that means a bonus of $120,000.
So far this year, more than 16 million Illinois Lottery Instant Tickets were sold, amounting to over $402 million in prizes for Illinois Lottery players.
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.
Instant Tickets b-roll available for download here.
In support of Problem Gambling Awareness Month, the Illinois Lottery is dedicating the month of March to promoting responsible play by encouraging players to: “Be Smart, Play Smart®.” For more information, visit the responsible gaming pages on the Illinois Lottery website: Illinois Lottery Responsible Gaming.
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The Illinois Lottery, founded in 1974, has contributed over $24 billion to the State’s Common School Fund in support of K-12 public education in Illinois since 1985. The Common School Fund is the Illinois Lottery’s primary benefactor, receiving nearly 99% of Illinois Lottery proceeds. The Illinois Lottery also supports various specialty causes as described in the Illinois Lottery Law (20 ILCS 1605/21.4). For more information about the Illinois Lottery and the causes we support, please visit IllinoisLottery.com.