Mother Encourages Daughter to Play Lottery with Chosen Numbers, Leading to Big Win

An Illinois resident has recently become a millionaire overnight, thanks to lottery numbers her mother suggested years ago. This incredible turn of fortune came when the woman, opting to stay anonymous, struck gold in the March 21 Lotto Million 2 draw.

Her winning numbers—2, 14, 16, 31, 40, and 46—were not randomly chosen. Instead, they were deeply personal, derived from family birthdays and anniversaries. By matching all six numbers, she secured a cool $1 million prize.

Adding a small cherry on top of her windfall, the woman also netted an additional $5 from another line, nudging her total winnings to $1,000,005.

Interestingly, these auspicious numbers were not new to her family. Her mother had once played the exact same combination but, unfortunately, forgot to submit the ticket. This oversight caused her to miss out on what would have been a transformative $6.4 million jackpot at that time. Now, years later, fate has smiled upon the family in a way that can only be described as poetic justice.

The woman said that her mother had played those exact same numbers years earlier but forgot to submit the ticket, so when they hit, she lost out on a life-changing $6.4 million jackpot. 

‘The numbers were drawn exactly as she had them. She just never played the ticket,’ the anonymous woman told the Illinois Lottery. 

‘So my mother told me, “Play these numbers. One day, they’ll hit,”‘ she added.

The woman said that she was in disbelief at first and asked herself, ‘Is this really true?’ She only informed her family of the big win after it was confirmed by email.

This anonymous Illinois woman won a $1 million jackpot from the state lottery by playing numbers that were suggested to her by her mother

The woman told the Illinois Lottery that her mother had played the numbers years before but forgot to submit the ticket, so she lost out on a $6.4 million prize. A man is pictured at a lottery ticket machine (stock image) 

The newly wealthy woman added that her husband and daughter were also in disbelief when she told them her mother’s numbers had worked. 

The winner said that she plans to use her windfall to take her family on an all-inclusive trip to the Bahamas, buy new cars and invest in her daughter’s college education.

‘We’re just normal, everyday people,’ she told the Illinois Lottery. ‘This win is truly a blessing from my mother.’

There is a 24 percent federal withholding tax on lottery wins, and Illinois has an additional 4.95 percent state income tax. That means if the anonymous winner opted for the lump sum, she took home $710,500.

The Illinois Lottery’s Lotto Million game, which is the one the anonymous woman played, has numbers drawn three times per week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The woman won a Saturday draw. 

The game can only be played in Illinois and is available in stores, online and through the state lottery’s app.

The Illinois woman’s win came from lucky numbers suggested by her mother, but jackpot-winning luck can come from a variety of places.

A diner in Nantucket, Massachusetts, recently made headlines after selling its fourth million-dollar winning ticket in just two years. 

The woman will take home $710,500 due to tax withholdings if she opted for the lump sum. A person is pictured buying lotto tickets (stock photo)

This lucky diner in Nantucket, Massachusetts, called Old South Diner, has sold four winning million-dollar lottery tickets in just the past two years

Last month, Old South Diner sold a $2 million winner to local resident Yancy Contreras Menjivar. The other winners were sold in March 2024, May 2024 and August 2024. 

Also last month, an Ohio man won a $158,585 jackpot after a cashier mixed up his ticket. 

The man, who was not identified, had attempted to purchase five $1 tickets and one $5 ticket of EZPLAY Quick Spot on March 14. 

But the cashier misunderstood and gave him a single $10 ticket. He kept the ticket and shoved it in his pocket before leaving the store. 

When he played the ticket online, he was shocked to discover that he had all 10 numbers.

Due to the cashier mix-up, he will keep the entire jackpot prize, the Ohio Lottery said.