Man wins $650K lottery prize with numbers that hold heartfelt connection to late wife

If you’ve ever won the lottery, consider yourself truly fortunate. A heartwarming story of love and devotion emerged when a Chicago man won $650,000 while honoring his late wife. According to the Illinois Lottery, a Chicago resident identified as Big Money D recently claimed a $650,000 "Lucky Day Lotto" jackpot prize. What made his win particularly special was that the numbers he selected were deeply connected to his late wife.

In an interview with the outlet, the man shared, “I typically play Pick Four, but that day, I noticed that the Lucky Day Lotto jackpot was pretty high, so I decided to switch it up and try something new. I picked numbers related to my late wife, and when I won, it felt like it was a message from her.” The ticket was purchased on November 16 at Mariano’s in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood on North Sheridan Road. Lottery officials noted that Mariano’s will receive a $6,500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Money D was so overwhelmed and shocked by the big win that it took him an entire day to accept what had happened to him. “I’m still so shocked and excited about the win, I have barely been able to sleep!” the lucky winner added. People dream of different things based on their needs, and for this lottery winner, it was owning his dream home. Money D shared that he has already begun house hunting. “I’m already looking at houses, and can’t wait to purchase my dream home for myself and my kids – it truly is a dream come true,” the winner added. It is pertinent to mention that there were more than 27,600 winning "Lucky Day Lotto" tickets purchased that same evening, earning Illinois Lottery players over $724,000 in prizes.

While this particular story has made the headlines recently, several unexpected lottery-winning stories have taken social media by storm in the past. A similar incident happened when a woman named Lin ended up winning $139, just because of her dog. Yes! That's right. As reported by Asia One, Lin had to buy the lottery ticket after her pet broke free from the leash and bit off a ticket, leaving its owner with no other choice but to pay for it. The lucky woman shared her astonishing story with the outlet and said, "I was so surprised. I've never won such a large sum of money in a lottery." 

Well, the lucky woman did not stop after that incident. She decided to test her dog's luck once again and took it to choose another scratch-off lottery ticket. Interestingly, this time too, the dog won 30 Yuan (around 4 USD) for Lin. However, Lin didn't take any further chances at the lottery and used the money she won to buy canned food and treats for her pet, reported the outlet.