HERRIN, Ill. — Debbie Howard was spending spring break in Florida when she got a call from her father.
He asked her when she was coming home. Howard thought the question was a little strange. She told him about the trip, and he knew when she planned to return home.
Then he told her to come by his house. He had a card she needed to sign.
She was confused at first.
"He said 'I need you to sign a Lotto ticket that you won for $500,'" Howard said.
Then he added that the prize was $500 a week for the rest of her life.
Howard told her father she would be there Monday evening.
She told a relative who lived in Florida, but tried not to get too excited for two reasons. She thought her dad might be confused. And, Illinois has not been paying lottery winners.
"I wasn't really sure he knew what he was talking about," Howard said. "Actually, my dad is a lotto player. He has played all my life."
Howard also learned Illinois resumed payments to lottery winners in December 2015.
When Howard arrived at her father's home, he said the winning ticket was on the kitchen table. She looked at the ticket on the table, but it was not a winner.
"He stepped back into the living room and said the ticket was on his table," Howard said.
This time, the ticket checked out. Howard signed the ticket and kept it in a safe until she could claim her prize at the Illinois Prize Center in Fairview Heights.
Howard had the option of taking a lump sum payment equal to $500 per week for 15 years.
"Different people say different things, but I opted to take the $500 for a week. I can will it to a child for up to 20 years," Howard said.
The prize is guaranteed for 20 years payout.
Her winnings will be taxed at 28.75 percent, so she will receive about $356 of $500 after taxes. She will receive the payments in yearly installments of about $18,500 per year. She will receive her first payment the end of April.
The money came at a good time for Howard and her family. Her son is a junior at Herrin High School and her daughter is a freshman. She worked as a cheerleading coach, but was considering quitting to find a full-time job to help pay for college for her children.
"It was pretty exciting because I am a cheerleading coach who works part-time," Howard said. "Now, I'm going to stay and coach because I really like it, and I don't have to worry about the money so much."
Howard's parents always played the lottery, both her dad and mom. They even bought a few books over the years to help improve their odds. It finally paid off. Howard is playing a little more frequently, too.
"Every place I stop I buy at least a dollar ticket. I hear my mom saying you can't win if you don't play," Howard said.
The winning scratch-off ticket was purchased at Red Top Liquor at 120 E. Cherry St. in Herrin.
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
Thanks to Coin Toss for the tip.
Nice Win!
Congratulations to Debbie Howard! What a gigantic surprise.
$18,500.00 per year This fit her lifestyle.
Congratulations to the winners '
life is like a roller coaster 'never know when you are going to be R$ch.
There a guy that live in New York. He win $1,200 week for life. He got it all at one time. It was for 30 years. He won over 1 millions. His picture online with the check.
Not gonna lie here , I am jealous of her and everyone who wins any of the for life games
I never win on them outside of $500 win on a $2,500 a week for life ticket ,, On the $1 ticket I dont think I ever won anything
$18,500 a year would be nice to have to supplemental income for 20 years
The games have been so popular though they just did another run on $500 and $1,000 for life tickets
Initial prizes remaining a week+ ago
$500 for life
$100 = 1,199 of 5,997 remaining
$1,000 = 77 of 300 remaining
$500 for life = 1 of 6 remaining
$1,000 for life
$1,000 = 34 of 180 remaining
$5,000 = 5 of 24 remaining
$10,000 = 2 of 12 remaining
$1,000 for life = 1 of 3 remaining
Now the update prize list with new print on tickets from Tusday update
$500 for life ($1 ticket)
$100 = 4,075 of 8,999 remaining
$1,000 = 220 of 450 remaining
$500 for life = 4 of 9 remaining
$1,000 for life ($2 ticket)
$1,000 = 231 of 360 remaining
$5,000 = 28 of 48 remaining
$10,000 = 14 of 24 remaining
$1,000 for life = 4 of 6 remaining
They have yet to do another run on $2,500 for life or $5,000 for life though I suspect the $2,500 for life ticket may get another run given how well they sell though the $5,000 for life have alot of prizes still remaining that aren't the grand prize so that may prevent another run on them
$2,500 for life ($5 ticket)
$1,000 = 492 of 1,200 remaining
$2,000 = 83 of 200 remaining
$10,000 = 34 of 100 remaining
$2,500 for life = 1 of 3 remaining
$5,000 for life ($10 ticket)
$1,000 = 945 of 1,344 remaining
$4,000 = 181 of 264 remaining
$20,000 = 66 of 98 remaining
$5,000 for life = 1 of 3 remaining
I imagine $5,000 for life sales have lagged since only 1 of the grand prize remains and cost of ticket
Illinois still has about 1/3 of the big prizes remaining on the 20 x 20 tickets that have been sold since 2012. Probably will retire that ticket at some point this year because I imagine sales aren't great given odds , cost of ticket ($20) and fact 2/3 of prizes have already been claimed
20 x 20 ticket ($20 ticket)
$1,000 = 6,387 of 17,500 remaining
$10,000 = 241 of 700 remaining
$20k for 20 years = 1 of 3 remaining
I occasionally buy a 20 x 20 ticket despite knowing the odds are slim (I believe 1 in 7.6M) to win grand prize but it has decent break even odds and I have won $100 on two tickets I have bought so overall for me game hasn't been a loser (I have bought 7 tickets overall on game and won $100 on two of them)
What a nice story, congrats to Debbie, and kudos to her Father. So happy this is not a story about another stolen lottery ticket.
Congrats to Debbie and her father!
Thanks to Todd for posting the story.
Always good to here people winning!!!!
When reading this article, it wasn't clear if the father was gifting the ticket to her?
Otherwise wouldn't she have known when she got the ticket that she won? Sorry, just confused on how the father had the ticket...
Nice story overall! Congrats to the lady!!
A gal in my town won 1k a week for life and it was fun to read her article.
Good for her but I would have taken the lump sum. Who knows about Illinois, if that state goes BK, lottery winning will be the first thing they'll cut. Take your money and run.
From the article, it looks like the father gifted to her. It would be monumentally stupid for them to have advertised that fact because the present value of the ticket is now a taxable gift and the father would have to file a federal (and possibly a state) gift tax return and pay gift tax.
They should have just been quiet about how Debbie won. This may end up costing the family a lot of money.
Yes sah, that sho' am a lotto money!
Only if he claimed it and filed.... Then gifted it.
Doesn't indicate though what the scenario was... Thus the confusion.
Nice gift or hit.