Lucky Number 56 Wins Illinois Lottery Player A Cool Million Bucks
Photo caption: A lucky Illinois Lottery player won $1 million, the top prize on the Jumbo Bucks scratch-off ticket, thanks to his lucky number 56.
CHICAGO, May 16, 2025 – An Illinois Lottery player is overjoyed after recently winning the top prize of $1 million on a $10 scratch-off lottery ticket, Jumbo Bucks.
“My wife wanted a soda, so I ran out to a nearby gas station. At the checkout, I decided to pick up a couple of scratch-off tickets, too,” recalled the newly-minted millionaire, who nicknamed himself ‘Fateful 56.’
The winning scratch-off ticket was purchased at a Shell gas station, located at 2474 N. Thatcher Avenue in River Grove, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. For selling the winning ticker, the Shell gas station will receive a $10,000 bonus, one percent of the prize amount.
“When I scratched the ticket at home and realized I’d won a million dollars, I was in total shock— but my wife was even more stunned. She didn’t believe me at all! I had to scan the ticket on my app to prove it, and even then, she still thought I was playing a prank on her,” laughed the lucky winner.
His wife chimed in, “Of course this is amazing, but it’s also hard to wrap your head around. We’ve never known anyone who’s won a prize this big, so you start to think, maybe this doesn’t actually happen – but we are now proof that it really does! We feel incredibly lucky, grateful, and honestly still surprised.”
As for the story behind the nickname ‘Fateful 56’? “The winning number on the ticket was 56 — and I’m 56 years old! I guess you could say I’m his lucky charm,” laughed the winner’s wife.
But the story took an even more surprising turn when the winner texted one of his best friends to share the news— along with a picture of the winning ticket. The friend, stunned by the sight of the number 56, didn’t say a word. Instead, he replied with a picture of his motorcycle— revealing his license plate: ‘56.’
Photo courtesy: Fateful 56
The lucky player won the $1 million top prize on a $10 scratch-off ticket, Jumbo Bucks.
“I actually picked the ticket because I saw the name ‘Bucks’ on it. I’m a hunter, and I thought it was a hunting-themed ticket—turned out, I was wrong,” the winner chuckled.
The “Bucks” family of tickets launched in early April and includes five tickets:
- $1 Lucky Bucks, with a top prize of $20,000
- $2 Big Bucks, with a top prize of $50,000
- $5 Giant Bucks, with a top prize of $500,000
- $10 Jumbo Bucks, with a top prize of $1,000,000
- And $20 Mega Bucks, with a top prize of $2,000,000
So far this year, 25 scratch-off tickets worth $1 million or more have already been won by Illinois Lottery players. In total, more than 23 million winning scratch-off tickets have been sold statewide, netting players over $610 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.
Instant Tickets b-roll, produced by the Illinois Lottery, is available for the media; download here.
The Illinois Lottery reminds players to play for fun, not funds. Be Smart, Play Smart®. Must be 18 or older to play. Game odds available at IllinoisLottery.com.
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About the Illinois Lottery
The Illinois Lottery, founded in 1974, has contributed over $25 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 beneficiary, 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.