Illinois Lottery: Woman claims $1M prize with winning ticket

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Photo courtesy of the Illinois Lottery

ROCKFORD, Ill. - A lucky Illinois resident has claimed a $1 million prize from the lottery’s Lotto Million 1 drawing after purchasing a ticket through the Illinois Lottery app.

Illinois woman wins big

The backstory:

The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, matched all six numbers in the April 3 drawing: 1-11-16-21-26-44. They claimed the prize last week at the Illinois Lottery prize center in Rockford.

"I’ve never been a big lottery player — in fact, I’ve never won anything big in my life — until now," the winner told the Illinois Lottery. "I figured I had just won back the $2 I spent on the ticket. I did — and also $1 million!"

The winner shared the news with their father, who verified the numbers, and a best friend, who responded with an outpouring of smiley-face emojis. The prize money will help fund a family trip, with Egypt topping the list as a surprise destination for the winner’s niece.

This marks the third time in 2024 that an Illinois Lottery player has won $1 million or more through the Lotto game. A $10.4 million jackpot was won in Des Plaines on Feb. 8, and another Lotto Million 1 ticket hit for $1 million on Feb. 17.

Lotto is an Illinois-only game drawn on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and includes two additional $1 million chances through Lotto Million 1 and Lotto Million 2.