$2 Million Illinois Lottery Winner Buys His Ticket In Morris

(The following press release was issued by the Illinois Lottery.)

MORRIS, IL — A 66-year old Illinois man, who wishes to remain anonymous, is celebrating big time after spending $20 on a 100X Payout Instant Ticket and winning the game’s top prize – a whopping $2,000,000.

The winning ticket was purchased at Pilot Travel Center, located at 3801 N. Division St. in Morris.

“My wife and I stopped for gas and I picked up a scratch-off ticket,” said the newly minted-millionaire. “She said, ‘Don’t scratch it in front of me - I’m bad luck.’ So once we got back home, I scratched the ticket alone and I couldn’t believe it - the ticket was a $2 million winner! I was laughing and crying at the same time. We are just ecstatic.”

After realizing his incredible luck, the happy winner decided it was time to pursue his dreams after 40 years of working, and told his boss that he’s retiring.

“When I told my boss the news of my retirement, he wasn’t happy,” said the lucky winner. “He asked me – ‘What’s it going to take to get you to stay?’ I chuckled and said, ‘$2 million dollars!’”

The lucky Illinois Lottery winner has played many different scratch-off games, but on that day, he chose a specific ticket due to its color.

“I picked the pink ticket because it’s my granddaughter’s favorite color,” explained the lucky winner. “Every year I take my family to the Chicago RV & Camping Show. After winning today, she asked me, ‘Grandpa, when do I get to go for a ride in your new RV?’ So, I guess I’m buying an RV now’” he laughed.

So far this year, 19 other Illinois Lottery players have become millionaires after winning on Instant Tickets.

In total, more than 48 million winning Instant Tickets have been sold in Illinois, netting lottery players over $1.04 billion in prizes in 2023.

The Illinois Lottery currently offers more than 50 different Instant Ticket games at over 7,000 retail locations across Illinois.