Man picks lottery numbers related to late wife — and it pays off. ‘A message from her’

A jackpot-winning Illinois Lottery player is crediting his late wife for his new fortunes.

He normally plays the Pick 4 lottery game, but the man who goes by “Big Money D” switched things up Nov. 16 when he purchased a Lucky Day Lotto ticket.

The Chicago man said he couldn’t resist the game’s jackpot prize of $650,000 when he purchased the ticket from Mariano’s grocery store.

With a nod to his late wife, he won the game’s top prize.

“I picked numbers related to my late wife – when I won, it felt like it was a message from her,” he told lottery officials.

He won the $650,000 prize by matching the winning numbers of 9-11-12-13-17. Odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 1,221,759.

When he accepted his winnings, he said he was “still so shocked” and had “barely been able to sleep” since he won.

Next, Big Money D plans on purchasing a dream home for his family.

“It truly is a dream come true,” he told lottery officials.

This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Man picks lottery numbers related to late wife — and it pays off. ‘A message from her’."