Lotto winner’s big mistake before $13m win

One lucky lottery player has won a $13.7m jackpot after accidentally playing the wrong game.

A lottery player in US state of Illinois is AUD$13.7 million richer after playing the wrong game when a machine at a local grocery store malfunctioned, Fox News reports.

The accidental winner, who has wished to stay anonymous, was attempting to play a different game when a problem arose with the machine at Jewel-Osco, located at 140 West Lake Street in Addison, which is about 32km west of downtown Chicago.

He ended up playing the lottery instead and bagged the AUD$13.7 million jackpot.

The man won AU$13.7 million after playing the wrong game at a local grocery store when a machine malfunctioned. Picture: Illinois Lottery

“It was a normal day just like any other. I was picking up groceries at Jewel and on my way out the door, I decided to buy a lottery ticket,” the lucky winner told the Illinois Lottery.

“I actually wanted to buy a ticket for a different game and the machine got stuck on Lotto. I was a bit frustrated. I said, ‘What is going on? The machine won’t give me the right game!’ So I decided I may as well buy the Lotto ticket.”

It proved to be a life-changing decision.

The lucky winner held onto the ticket for about a month before claiming his prize. Picture: Illinois Lottery

The winning ticket matched all six numbers in the Aug. 24 Lotto drawing to score the AUD$13.7 million jackpot prize. The winning numbers were 2, 15, 21, 29, 42 and 44.

The lucky winner held onto the ticket for about a month before claiming his prize.

“The morning after the drawing, I scanned the ticket at a machine to check if it was a winner,” the man said.

“When the machine showed the AUD$13.7 million prize amount, I couldn’t believe it. I looked at my wife and she was completely speechless. We are laughing over how angry I was at the broken machine and we’re so grateful for how it all turned out.”

For selling the winning ticket, Jewel in Addison will receive a one per cent bonus of the prize amount, or AUD$137,000.

The win is the second-largest prize won in the lotto game this year in Illinois. Picture: Illinois Lottery

The win is the second-largest prize won in the lotto game this year in Illinois, according to the Illinois Lottery, with the largest being a AUD$15.5 million winning ticket sold in Park Ridge in February. The lottery takes place three times a week, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over AUD$35 billion to the State’s Common School Fund in support of K-12 public education in Illinois since 1985. The Common School Fund is the Illinois Lottery’s primary beneficiary, receiving nearly 99% of Illinois Lottery proceeds. The Illinois Lottery also supports various specialty causes.

Meanwhile, playing the Mega Millions lottery will get more expensive in April next year with lottery tickets climbing by AUD$4 to AUD$6.

This story appeared on Fox News and is reproduced with permission

Originally published as Lotto winner’s big mistake before $13m win