News writer
The holidays came early for a couple of very fortunate Illinois Lottery players. One lucky ticket purchased online matched every number in the Lucky Day Lotto drawing, while another Illinois woman discovered her life-changing prize at a Walmart checkout after grabbing one of the state's newest holiday scratchers.
Between the jackpot joy and a festive $500,000 surprise, Illinois seems to be on a hot streak, and players across the state are hoping that luck keeps rolling right into the holiday season.
Big jackpot win in Illinois
It was a lucky Wednesday night for one Illinois Lottery player. The lucky ticket holder matched all of the winning numbers drawn in the Wednesday, October 29, 2025, evening drawing of the Lucky Day Lotto game.
The winning numbers for this drawing were 2, 6, 14, 31, and 40. The winning ticket was purchased using the Illinois Lottery website.
For the Lucky Day Lotto game, the last jackpot win took place on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. That drawing had one lucky winner also, with them winning the jackpot of $600,000.
With the win, the Lucky Day Lotto jackpot resets to $100,000 for the next drawing, which takes place during the afternoon on Thursday, October 30.
Woman kicks off holiday season with big win
An Illinois woman has started the holiday season the right way. She bought one of the $10 Holiday Bucks scratch-off tickets and turned it into $500,000.
The anonymous winner told lottery officials:
I was running errands at Walmart and decided to grab one of the new holiday-themed tickets on my way out. I was in a hurry, so I just scratched the barcode on the ticket and scanned it at the machine. You wouldn't believe how big my eyes got when “$500,000” popped up on the screen!
The lucky woman was confused at first, as she thought the machine was showing her how much she could win on the ticket, not the amount she actually won. She said:
I couldn't believe it! I even asked the clerk to double check, but told her, 'Don't tell anyone!'
The $10 Holiday Bucks ticket launched earlier this month. She made the purchase at Walmart, located at 3849 Northridge Drive in Rockford. For selling the winning ticket, the Walmart location will receive a $10,000 bonus from the state lottery.
After realizing she won, she said she “ran out to my car and immediately called my husband. ” As far as the husband goes, he told her, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Leave the store now — and don't let the ticket fly out the car window!”
Now that she has her prize in hand, the lucky winner says she is focused on gratitude and giving back this holiday season. She is planning on treating her family while also helping those who are less fortunate, especially kids in her community.
Enjoy playing the Illinois Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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