One lucky Illinois iLottery player is nearly $1 million richer after hitting a FastPlay jackpot Thursday night. The player won $913,372 on the FastPlay Cash Castle game, according to the Illinois Lottery. The winning ticket was purchased online.
Cash Castle is a $30 progressive FastPlay game with a jackpot that begins at $100,000 and grows as tickets are sold statewide until someone wins it. Players can also win other cash prizes.
The latest jackpot adds to what has already been a busy September for Illinois Lottery players.
Earlier this week, the Lottery was looking for the holder of a $550,000 Lucky Day Lotto jackpot from the Sept. 19 evening drawing. The winning numbers were 10-15-30-33-36, with one ticket matching all five numbers.
That came after another $550,000 Lucky Day Lotto jackpot was won over Labor Day weekend on a ticket sold at the Shell station at 307 W. Main St. in St. Charles. The St. Charles ticket matched all five numbers — 8-9-15-33-38 — in the Sept. 4 midday drawing. The retailer received a $5,500 selling bonus.
The St. Charles winner was one of three Lucky Day Lotto jackpot winners over the holiday weekend. An online player won $100,000 in that evening's drawing, while a ticket sold at Tony's Fresh Market on North Central Avenue in Chicago won $200,000 in the Sept. 6 midday drawing.
Another $1 million Lotto prize had a birthday twist. A Braidwood man won $1 million on a Lotto Million 2 ticket a friend gave him at his birthday party. The ticket was purchased at Gas N Wash, 1951 E. Laraway Road in New Lenox.
The ticket matched all six numbers — 11-17-22-26-36-45 — in the Aug. 8 drawing. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, initially thought the ticket was worth $1,000 before learning at an Illinois Lottery prize center that he had actually won $1 million.
Gas N Wash received a $10,000 selling bonus for selling the winning ticket. The winner said he planned to celebrate with family, take a winter trip to Florida and possibly buy a new car and golf cart.
September also brought a seven-figure winner. A ticket sold at Tony's Fresh Market, 2551 W. Cermak Road in Chicago, won $1 million in the Sept. 14 Lotto Million 1 drawing after matching all six numbers: 11-15-37-43-45-48. The ticket also won another $4 on two additional lines of play, while the store received a $10,000 selling bonus.
And the month began with the resolution of a much bigger Illinois Lottery mystery. The sole winner of the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot from the Aug. 12 drawing came forward to claim the prize, the Illinois Lottery confirmed Sept. 15.
The anonymous winner purchased a single $2 Quick Pick ticket at Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh in Quincy and selected the lump-sum payment option. The jackpot was the second-largest lottery prize ever won in Illinois and the eighth-largest in Powerball history.
As for Thursday's FastPlay winner, the Illinois Lottery said players have purchased more than 14.5 million winning FastPlay tickets so far this year, collecting more than $330 million in prizes.
FastPlay games do not require players to select numbers, fill out a play slip, scratch a ticket or wait for a drawing. The Illinois Lottery currently offers 39 FastPlay games, with tickets available at retailers, online and through the Lottery app. Winners have one year from the date of purchase to claim their prizes.
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