Chicago-Area Man Wins $1 Million Lucky Day Lotto Jackpot—Plans To Surprise Kids With New Home
Photo caption: An Illinois Lottery player, nicknamed 'Music Man,’ poses for his celebratory winner photo after winning $1,000,001 playing Lucky Day Lotto.
CHICAGO, January 21, 2026 — What began as a standard evening playing on the Illinois Lottery’s iLottery platform turned into a life-changing moment for one Chicago-area resident.
“When I win, it’s usually just a few dollars—just enough to break even,” chuckled the anonymous winner, who dubbed himself the ‘Music Man’. “So you can imagine my surprise when I saw I’d won the Lucky Day Lotto® jackpot. It felt completely unreal.”
The winning ticket matched all five numbers— 19-28-30-40-42— in the January 4 Lucky Day Lotto evening drawing, securing the $1,000,000 jackpot. An additional $1 was won for matching two numbers on a separate line, bringing the total prize to $1,000,001.
Music Man said he double-checked the Illinois Lottery app to confirm the win before waking his wife. “I was in bed and told her right away,” he recalled. “She said, ‘What, are you serious? No way!’”
When asked about his plans for the winnings, Music Man said family comes first. “My family means everything to me,” he said. “I plan to surprise my kids with a new house. After all, their birthday numbers landed me the jackpot.”
The winner, a music producer, also plans to invest in new equipment to support and grow his business.
In 2025, the Illinois Lottery generated more than 10.7 million Lucky Day Lotto winners and awarded over $67 million in prizes statewide.
Lucky Day Lotto is an Illinois-only draw game with two daily drawings at 12:40 p.m. and 9:22 p.m., and jackpots start at $100,000. Tickets are available in-store, online, and via the Illinois Lottery app.
Lucky Day Lotto b-roll, available for use by the media; download here.
Be Smart, Play Smart®. Must be 18 or older to play. Game odds available at IllinoisLottery.com.
###
About the Illinois Lottery
The Illinois Lottery, founded in 1974, has contributed over $25 billion to the State’s Common School Fund in support of K-12 public education in Illinois since 1985. The Common School Fund is the Illinois Lottery’s primary beneficiary, receiving nearly 99% of Illinois Lottery proceeds. The Illinois Lottery also supports various specialty causes as described in the Illinois Lottery Law (20 ILCS 1605/21.4). For more information about the Illinois Lottery and the causes we support, please visit IllinoisLottery.com.