Illinois resident wins $1 million in lottery with birthday ticket.
A resident of Bradwood, Illinois, in the United States, won US$1 million (approximately R$5,1 million) in the lottery with a ticket he received as a birthday gift. The Lotto Million 2 draw took place on Tuesday (August 8).
The winner's wife organized a big party to mark the occasion. During the celebration, a friend handed the birthday boy an envelope containing several lottery tickets, one of which would turn out to be the winning lottery prize.
The winning ticket matched all six numbers in the draw: 11, 17, 22, 26, 36 and 45. The winner, however, took a while to realize what he had in his hands.
The discovery of the prize
He asked a colleague to check the ticket, but the friend made a mistake in the verification and reported that the value was only US$1. “I thought, ‘Wow, a thousand dollars isn’t bad at all, it was a great day.’ But I wasn’t prepared for what happened next,” the man told the Illinois Lottery.
It was only when he took the ticket to be checked directly at the lottery office that the winner learned the true size of the prize. One of the employees corrected the mistake on the spot. "We told the employees that I had won a thousand dollars," he reported. "One of the employees smiled and said, 'Sir, you actually won a million dollars.'"
The reaction was one of shock. "I was completely shocked. My wife even started crying," he said. In addition to the main prize, the man received another US$2 for matching two numbers on a second line of the bet.
Plans for the prize
The winner has already decided part of what to do with the money. Among the priorities are buying a new car and a golf cart, as well as paying for his annual trip to visit family in Florida.
The family is also planning a cruise to celebrate both the couple's 40th wedding anniversary and their children's birthdays. "I told them, 'Dad will pay,'" the millionaire stated. "I never imagined I would actually win," he said about the ticket he received as a gift.
