Illinois Woman Kicks Off Her Retirement with $1M Lotto Win

An Illinois woman, who decided to remain anonymous, won $1 million with a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought at a Thorntons gas station in suburban Aurora earlier in the year. 

“This Win Came at a Great Time”

The prize, according to the lucky winner who is in her sixties, couldn’t have come at a better time, as the lucky winner had recently retired. “This win came at a great time,” she explained, adding she had “just retired last year,” which means the win would help her retirement “be that much more comfortable.”

What determined the woman to buy the winning ticket is, probably, even more interesting than the timing itself. 

As she explained, like most passionate lottery players, she used to faithfully buy the same tickets that she was familiar with, like $5-10 instant tickets. 

However, when, out of the blue, one of her $10 scratch-off tickets brought her a $100 win, she made the decision to “try out this new $50 scratch-off ticket.”

When she discovered the good fortune that came upon, she was in disbelief, and “had to scan the ticket twice to make sure.”

Fifth $1M Winner at the $10 Million Game

The scratch-off game that brought her the big win is called “$10 Million.” Launched last December, the game is the first to feature a $50 price tag in Illinois. 

The retired woman is now the fifth on the list of $1 million prize winners. 

The “$10 Million” game, which also features the best odds to win $500 on any scratch-off ticket in Illinois at the moment, will also bring the Thorntons at 2800 Ogden Avenue a $10,000 bonus, which represents one percent of the prize.

In total, the game features 15 such associated games with prizes of $1 million.

There are also three games with $10 million grand prizes ready to be won.

So far during the year, the Illinois Lottery sold over 19.5 million Instant Tickets, netting players a total that surpasses the $486 million mark in prizes.

The lottery displays a rich of Instant Ticket games with prices ranging from $1 to $50, which are available at roughly 7,000 retail locations all across The Prairie State.

Illinois residents who are at least 18 can purchase lottery tickets using the Illinois Lottery website. 

The list of available games includes Mega Millions, which, according to unofficial sources, might make a surprising ticket price jump from $2 to $5, along with Powerball, LuckyDay Lotto, Pick 3 Pick, 4, and Lotto with Extra Shot. 

Players cannot buy instant wins or scratch-offs online.