$1 Million Lottery Win Has Chicago Man Giving Extra Thanks This Holiday Season
Photo caption: A $1 million win has Mr. M feeling extra grateful – just in time for Thanksgiving.
CHICAGO, November 21, 2023 – An Illinois Lottery player is feeling extra thankful this holiday season: for family, retirement, and a $1 million top prize winning lottery ticket.
“Mr. M,” from Chicago, purchased a $10 scratch-off ticket that was worth a whopping $1 million, allowing him to retire early and spend more time with his family.
“I was going to retire next year - but now I don’t have to wait!” exclaimed the winner. “It’s time I focus on what really matters - my family. With this money, I can retire early, and I’m going to move closer to my kids to be more present in their lives. I’m also a grandfather, and it’s finally time for me to enjoy spoiling my grandkids.”
The $1 million winning 50X Payout scratch-off ticket was purchased at Harlem Food & Liquors, located at 4850 N. Harlem Ave. in Harwood Heights, near Chicago’s northwest side.
“I buy different tickets from time to time, but on this day, I saw the blue 50X Payout ticket and had a good gut feeling about it,” said the 68-year-old industrial mechanic. “I chose to take a chance and buy it, and boy, am I glad I did.”
When asked what he plans to do with the winnings, Mr. M replied, "I'm going to buy a condo near my kids, and trade in my car for a pick-up truck to help out my daughter who is always paying delivery fees for things - I can now be her delivery man, and I won’t charge her a penny.”
This is also a big win for the retailer that sold the winning ticket, as the store will receive a cash selling bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Harlem Food & Liquors, that means a bonus of $10,000.
“Mr. M is a regular customer who comes into our store often,” exclaimed Kaushik Patel of Harlem Food & Liquors. “He actually bought the very last 50X Payout ticket in our machine. He then came back the next day and said ‘Hey buddy, I got a million dollar win from you!’ He was so happy, and smiling so big – it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
This isn’t the first time the retailer has sold a big winning lottery ticket. In September 2022, Harlem Food & Liquors sold a $1 milling winning Lotto ticket.
So far in November, nearly 3.5 million winning Instant Tickets have been sold in Illinois, netting lottery players over $75 million in prizes.
The Illinois Lottery currently offers more than 50 different Instant Ticket games at over 7,000 retail locations across Illinois.
Winners have one year from the date of the winning draw in which to claim their prize. The Illinois Lottery encourages all winners to write their name on the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they’re ready to claim their prize. Winners should visit IllinoisLottery.com/winning for more information on how to claim their prizes.
About the Illinois Lottery
Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $24 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes. For more information, visit IllinoisLottery.com.