An Illinois man found an old, long-forgotten Powerball ticket and decided to give the numbers another try, earning him a $1 million prize. Photo courtesy of the Illinois Lottery
Sept. 25 (UPI) — An Illinois man recycled the numbers from an old, long-forgotten Powerball ticket and ended up winning a $1 million prize.
The anonymous player, who used the alias Rex, told Illinois Lottery officials he decided to buy a ticket for the Sept. 3 Powerball drawing after finding an old, non-winning ticket.
“I usually play Lotto, but this time I found an old Powerball ticket in the drawer and figured I’d give those numbers another try,” the man said. “The jackpot was so high — over a billion dollars! I figured I wouldn’t get too many chances at that kind of money.”
The ticket, bought from Joe’s Tobacco and Vape & Phone Repair Shop on West Galena Boulevard in Aurora, matched all five numbers in the drawing: 3-16-29-61-69.
“I woke up the next day after the drawing, had my second cup of coffee, and suddenly remembered to check the numbers,” Rex said. “It took a whole day to sink in. I triple-checked my ticket and even scanned it at the store where I bought it. I barely slept that night — my blood pressure was through the roof!”
Rex said his $1 million prize will go toward buying a new car and buying gifts for his loved ones.
