An Illinois woman found an old lotto ticket she had by chance. After scanning it, it turned out to be worth a million dollars. Illinois Lottery told the story, and according to them, she's the 9th person to win $1 million dollars or more with Lucky Day Lotto.
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The name of the woman wasn't shared, although her story was.
She had purchased the ticket for the October 20th evening draw when stopping at a Jewel-Osco to fetch some groceries before visiting her aunt. She scratched the numbers but never cashed them in. It was only a couple of days later that she would find the ticket again in her purse after forgetting about it.
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The lady said, "A couple days after the drawing, I saw the ticket in my purse and opened my lottery app to scan my ticket and check if it was a winner. I immediately saw "$1,000,000" on the screen and I was in total shock."
She scanned the ticket again in disbelief, but it showed the same result, "I instantly started crying. I thought, 'This is unbelievable.'"
Old Lotto Ticket Brings New Riches
It's not every day you find a million dollars at the bottom of your purse.
The woman shared that she's most excited to go back to Ireland, her "favorite place in the whole world."
"The landscape is stunning and I'm thrilled that I can now look forward to these trips every year," she said.
It's unclear whether she took annual payments or a lump sum. The last time a man won a million dollars, he only received just under $500,000. When accepting a lump sum, the amount is reduced. That amount is then taxed.
If she's given the option, it may be wiser to take annual payments. This way, she'd still receive the full amount and she will get the funds every year as she needs them. Although a huge lump sum of cash is incredibly enticing.
I wish her well on her trips to Ireland, although it seems she's already benefiting from the luck o' the Irish.
