2 friends, a doctor’s appointment, and a $350,000 jackpot — how being ‘at the right place at the right time’ comes a long way
A pair of friends from Illinois had one of their wildest dreams come true this week after they won a whopping $350,000 jackpot after purchasing a lottery ticket.
It all happened when Randy was taking his wife to a doctor’s appointment, and they decided to stop at Jewel-Osco on the 170 Block of East Roosevelt Road in West Chicago to purchase a Quick Pick ticket. Randy and April, who are anything but amateurs in the field of lottery ticketing, had made a pact with each other that if they ever won the lottery, they would split the amount of money they got.
A lottery ticket and a dream come true
According to reports provided by the Illinois lottery, Randy and April managed to match all five numbers on their January 7 Lucky Day Lotto drawing, which were 2, 4, 6, 27 and 39. Talking about the big win, Randy said, “We were at the right place at the right time.” However, funnily enough, he didn’t believe his eyes when he first clocked the winning numbers. April, while narrating Randy’s disbelief in the matter, said, “At first, Randy thought we’d only won $350 and joked about buying more tickets. When I checked the app and saw it was $350,000, everything changed.”
Randy and April, who had been playing the lottery for years, were often doubted by their friends and co-workers, but now everything has changed. “People always told us, ‘You’re never going to win. But we’d laugh and say, ‘One day we’ll hit it,’” said Randy. April added, “Everyone at work started giving us high fives and congratulating us.”
From investments to tattoos, here is what Randy and April plan to do with their winning
After tax deductions, April and Randy will be taking home exactly $248,675, which, as per their pact, if they split by 2, comes to $1,24333.5 per person, which is a humongous amount in itself. The duo plans to spend this amount on property investments, retirement savings, and a vacation. Randy, who doesn’t fly, says his wife wants to take a trip to Ireland, but he will get a tattoo instead. He said, “My wife wants to go to Ireland. But since I don’t fly, I might be getting a tattoo instead.”
The Jewel-Osco retailer that sold Randy and April the winning lottery ticket will also be receiving a prize amount totalling $3,500, which is one per cent of the prize amount of $350,000. In case anyone’s wondering, Lucky Day Lotto, which proved to be life-changing for Randy and April, has two daily drawings at 12:40 p.m. and 9:22 p.m, and prize amounts start at $100,000. You can purchase tickets in-store, online, and via the Illinois Lottery app.
Tracing the roots of the Illinois Lottery and its contributions over the years
The Illinois Lottery was founded in 1974. Since 1985, it has made a significant contribution of $25 billion to the State’s Common School Fund that supports K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade) public education in Illinois. The lottery also makes significant contributions towards other causes, such as:
- The United Negro College Fund- providing educational scholarships for college and university students
- Police Memorials- building and maintenance of police memorials, families of the fallen, and other police support programs in Illinois
- Illinois Dream Fund- funding of Illinois DREAM Fund Commission Scholarships
- Alzheimer’s- care, support, education, and awareness programs about Alzheimer’s in Illinois
- Breast Cancer- breast cancer research and support services in Illinois)
- Homelessness- homelessness prevention and assistance programs in Illinois)
- HIV/Aids- HIV/AIDS prevention education and treatment programs in Illinois)
In addition to these, the Illinois Lottery also makes significant contributions in the fields of Special Olympics, Veterans, and Multiple Sclerosis.
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