Khaberni - A man from Illinois won one million dollars in the Powerball lottery after an unexpected meeting with his grandmother, whom he described as "my lucky charm".
According to the local lottery, the unidentified player, who named himself "My Grandma is My Lucky Charm", bought the winning ticket from a "Road Ranger" store in Rochelle, and matched the five numbers: 13, 16, 18, 20 and 27.
The player mentioned that before discovering his win, he visited the store during a short lunch break to buy the ticket before the jackpot draw of 240 million dollars that evening. Upon arrival, he noticed a car resembling his grandmother's, and it later turned out that she was inside the store by the checkout machine.
When the ticket was scanned, a message indicating he had won 1,000,004 dollars appeared. The winner said, "I couldn't believe it, so I scanned it again. Then I started to scream and gasp. I immediately called my grandmother, and she asked me: Are you sure you have won?". He manually checked the numbers online and discovered a complete match except for the Powerball number.
The man affirmed his intention to share part of the prize with his grandmother, saying, "She is definitely my lucky charm," and he plans to buy a new car. Under the lottery rules, the "Road Ranger" store received a reward of 10,000 dollars (1% of the prize value) for selling the winning ticket.
This win is among 12 prizes of a million dollars or more won by players in Illinois during the year 2025. Meanwhile, the upcoming Powerball jackpot has increased to 681 million dollars, with the next draw scheduled for Wednesday evening.
