Illinois man's birthday present wins him a $1M lottery prize

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- An Illinois man won a $1 million lottery jackpot from a ticket he received as a gift from a friend at his birthday party.

The Bradwood man told Illinois Lottery officials his wife threw him a big party for his birthday, and during the event a friend handed him an envelope with several lottery tickets inside.

"I never would've imagined actually winning," the man said.

One ticket, for the Aug. 8 Lotto Million 2 drawing, wound up scoring a $1 million prize by matching the numbers 11-17-22-26-36-45.

"I didn't even think I won anything at first glance," he said. "I had one of my friends check the ticket. He must've also overlooked it, because he said I only won a grand. I thought, 'Wow, a thousand bucks isn't bad, this was a great day.' But I was not prepared for what came next."

The man and his wife took the ticket to an Illinois Lottery prize center to claim what he thought would be $1,000.

"We told the staff that I won a thousand dollars," he said. "One of the workers smiled and said 'Sir, you actually won a million dollars.' I was in complete shock. My wife even started tearing up."

The man scored an additional $2 for matching two numbers on another line.

The birthday celebrant said his winnings will fund his annual trip to visit family in Florida, as well as possibly a new car and a golf cart.

"We'll be going on a cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary and my kids' birthdays," he said. "I told them, 'Dad's paying.'"