PHILO, Ill. (WMBD) — One lucky Illinois Lottery player won the top prize on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
According to an Illinois Lottery news release, the winner, who requested to remain anonymous, bought the ticket at Phillips 66, located at 102 S. Lincoln Street in Philo, a town about eight miles south of Champaign.
“It’s the craziest thing to ever happen to me – I still can’t stop shaking,” the winner said. “My wife was just saying ‘You’ve got to stop buying those things.’ So you can imagine how ecstatic I was to be able to tell her I won!”
The winning scratch-off was a $2,000 Multiplier ticket. The winner said it was part of their daily routine to pick up a coffee and a lottery ticket before heading to work.
“I was on my way to work when I realized my scratch-off ticket was a $1 million winner, and I pulled a U-turn in the middle of the road to go back home and tell my wife,” the winner said. “When I showed my wife the winning ticket, she did a triple-take. She then asked me if she was dreaming, and I told her, ‘I hope not.’”
The winner said they plan to use the money to pay for their kid’s college fund.
The Philo gas station received a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket.
According to the Illinois lottery, more than 55 million Illinois Lottery instant tickets have been sold this year, with players winning more than $1.2 billion in prizes.
More information on the Illinois Lottery is available here.
