Chicago Man Gets Early Retirement After Turning $10 Into $1 Million

CHICAGO — A 68-year-old Chicago man who was planning on retiring in 2024 has now adjusted his future plans after capturing a $1 million payday in the Illinois Lottery ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, lottery officials said on Tuesday.

The man, who was identified only as "Mr. M" purchased a $10 scratch-off ticket from a Harwood Heights convenience store that was worth $1 million, allowing him to retire early and spend more time with his family.

“I was going to retire next year - but now I don’t have to wait," the lottery winner said in a news release. “It’s time I focus on what really matters — my family. With this money, I can retire early, and I’m going to move closer to my kids to be more present in their lives. I’m also a grandfather, and it’s finally time for me to enjoy spoiling my grandkids.”

The $1 million winning 50X Payout scratch-off ticket was purchased at Harlem Food & Liquors, located at 4850 N. Harlem Ave. in Harwood Heights, near Chicago’s northwest side.

“I buy different tickets from time to time, but on this day, I saw the blue 50X Payout ticket and had a good gut feeling about it,” the soon-to-be-retired industrial mechanic said in the release “I chose to take a chance and buy it, and boy, am I glad I did.”

When asked what he plans to do with the winnings, "Mr. M" replied, "I'm going to buy a condo near my kids, and trade in my car for a pick-up truck to help out my daughter who is always paying delivery fees for things - I can now be her delivery man, and I won’t charge her a penny.”

This is also a big win for the retailer that sold the winning ticket, as the store will receive a cash selling bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Harlem Food & Liquors, that means a bonus of $10,000.

“Mr. M is a regular customer who comes into our store often,” said Kaushik Patel of Harlem Food & Liquors. “He actually bought the very last 50X Payout ticket in our machine. He then came back the next day and said ‘Hey buddy, I got a million-dollar win from you!’ He was so happy, and smiling so big — it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”

This isn’t the first time the retailer has sold a big winning lottery ticket. In September 2022, Harlem Food & Liquors sold a $1 milling winning Lotto ticket.

So far in November, nearly 3.5 million winning Instant Tickets have been sold in Illinois, netting lottery players over $75 million in prizes. The Illinois Lottery currently offers more than 50 different Instant Ticket games at over 7,000 retail locations across Illinois.