Chicago mother wins $400K on $5 IL Lottery scratch-off ticket purchased on SW Side
She intends to invest the money in her 3 kids' education
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago mother won $400,000 on a $5 scratch-off ticket, the Illinois Lottery said Thursday.
Claudia purchased the winning ticket at the California Enterprises convenience store, located at 2800 W. 55th St. in Chicago's Gage Park neighborhood.
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The woman was on a routine grocery run when she bought the Illinois Lottery's In The Money Instant Ticket.
She found out she won when she scanned the ticket in the store.
"I thought I was losing my mind-I lost track of how many times I checked the results," she said.
When she got home, Claudia shared the news with her family, who was just as skeptical.
"I immediately told my mom and sister," she said. "They said, 'No way, you're playing with us.' I told them, 'Well, I've already scanned this thing a million times today-let's make it a million and one.'"
Claudia has three children. She said she intends to invest the money in their education and surprise them with a back-to-school shopping spree.
"They have no idea it's actually for school supplies," she said.
For selling the winning ticket, the retailer will receive a $4,000 bonus-equal to 1% of the prize amount.
A Powerball player in Quincy, Illinois recently won a $1 billion prize.
