Illinois Man Wins $2 Million on Scratch-Off Game, Then Retires

The odds that you will get struck by a bolt of lightning in the state of Illinois are dramatically higher than winning a prize of $2 million dollars playing a scratch-off lottery in the Land of Lincoln.

The odds are 1 in 15,300 that lightning will strike you in your lifetime, while it's 1 in 1,876,920 that win a scratch-off game with a multi-million dollar prize.

Lottery Winner Picked Ticket Because of Color

A 66-year-old man who wants to remain anonymous said he chose a pink Illinois scratch-off game "because it’s my granddaughter’s favorite color," and now she should at least get a cut of Grandpa's winning $2 million dollars.

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According to the WGN story, the man purchased the ticket in Morris at the Pilot Travel Center on Illinois Route 47.

After purchasing the $20 Illinois lottery game, the man didn't even scratch it to see if he won because his wife told him not to scratch it in front of her because she was "bad luck." So, when he got back home and scratched the winning $2 million ticket, he couldn't believe it. "I was laughing and crying at the same time," the man told WGN.

Lottery Winner Didn't Wait Long to Retire

After working for 40 years, the lottery winner called his work to retire but said his boss wasn't happy about it.

When I told my boss the news of my retirement, he wasn’t happy. He asked me ‘What’s it going to take to get you to stay?’ I chuckled and said, ‘$2 million!’ -Illinois Lottery Winner via WGN-TV