Forgotten lottery ticket earns Illinois woman $1 million
Nov. 11 (UPI) - An Illinois woman tucked a Lucky Day Lotto ticket into her purse and forgot about it before discovering it was a $1 million winner.
The woman told Illinois Lottery officials her journey to winning began when she stopped for groceries at the Jewel-Osco store in Elmhurst.
"While on my way to visit my aunt, I made a quick stop at Jewel to pick up a few groceries, and before heading out the door, I grabbed a quick pick Lucky Day Lotto ticket," the player recalled. "I actually put the ticket in my purse and forgot all about it."
She said it wasn't until days after the Oct. 20 evening drawing that she remembered the check the ticket.
"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. I scanned the ticket one more time to double-check, and when it showed '$1,000,000' again, I instantly started crying. I thought, 'This is unbelievable,'" the winner said.
She said she already is making plans for her winnings.
"What I'm most excited about is being able to afford annual trips to my favorite place in the whole world: Ireland," she said. "The landscape is stunning and I'm thrilled that I can now look forward to these trips every year."
