An Illinois resident has recently made a fortune after purchasing a $3 million scratch-off lottery ticket in Mount Prospect, a locale within the Chicago suburbs. This win follows similar recent success stories of residents scooping anywhere between $400,000 and $3 million according to NBC Chicago.

The lucrative ticket was sold at a gas station, consequently, the retailer will also benefit financially. The site in question, a BP gas station, will earn a one percent bonus on the winning prize of $30,000. Store manager, Benny Lukose, expressed joy and gratitude over this unexpected windfall, citing it will help offset some business expenses as WGNTV stated.

Despite this unexpected windfall, an NBC 5 report earlier this year highlighted some inconsistencies within the Illinois Lottery system. It found that the Lottery had continued to sell Instant Games tickets after the significant prizes had been claimed. A spokesperson for the event confessed that retailers are timley notified whenever a ticket no longer holds a top prize. The process of removing expired tickets from availability can take one to three months according to NBC Chicago.

Regardless of the findings, the Illinois Lottery system continues to inspire enthusiasm amongst ticket buyers. This enthusiasm contributed to the sale of more than 50 million winning Instant Lotto tickets in 2023 alone. The Illinois Lottery offers over 50 different Instant Ticket games and maintains a network of more than 7,000 retail locations throughout the state, as NBC Chicago noted.