01-08-2025
Illinois Lottery player claims $1.1M Lucky Day Lotto prize
An Illinois Lottery player is celebrating his new fortune after claiming his $1.1 million Lucky Day Lotto prize.
The winner, self-named "My Hole-In-One," claimed the jackpot at the Illinois Lottery Prize Center in Rockford, Illinois, lottery officials said.
The winner said he received an email that he won, but thought it was a scam.
"I received an email saying that I won, but with so many email scams out there, I thought it was fake," he said.
The winner matched all five numbers in the Lucky Day Lotto drawing on Sunday, July 27. Those numbers were: 14, 22, 23, 32, and 36.
"I was out on the golf course a few days before I claimed the prize when it finally hit me—I really did win," he said. "Tears came to my eyes. It was incredibly moving."
He said he plans to keep most of the money for a rainy day so he can enjoy retirement with his wife and celebrate with a vacation to either Florida or California.
The jackpot was one of two prizes worth more than $1 million that were won this week. An online player won the $1,763,224 jackpot playing the Cash Castle FastPlay game.
Lucky Day Lotto is an Illinois-only draw game with twice-daily drawings at 12:40 p.m. and 9:22 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in-store, online, or on the Illinois Lottery app.
Players must be 18 years of age to participate.
