By Kate Northrop
NILES, Il. — After playing the lottery for a decade, one lucky man attributed his double-win to consistency, a favorite retailer, and his daughters' birthdays.
The avid Illinois Lottery player knows what luck feels like firsthand — Rich Pascente's youngest daughter was born on Christmas Eve. He got to relive that luck 39 years later when that special day helped him win one of two lottery prizes.
Pascente, of Glenview, chose his Pick 4 numbers using both of his daughters' birthdays — 1, 2, 2, 4 and 2, 3, 7, 7 — and took home two prizes worth $2,700 for a total of $5,400.
"I got excited!" Pascente exclaimed. "I have been playing the Illinois Lottery for about ten years, and my favorite games to play are Pick 3, Pick 4, and Lucky Day Lotto."
His wife of 44 years was at home with him when he checked his numbers and found out about his win right away.
"My wife told me to make sure to save for the kids and our grandson," he recalled.
Pascente bought his prize-winning tickets at the EZ Pantry on West Oakton Street in Niles, the retailer he's had luck with in the past.
"My advice to other players is to be consistent and play the same numbers," the winner said.
Illinois players looking to try out the Pick 4 game can purchase tickets for two drawings a day, which take place daily at 12:40 pm and 9:22 pm CST. For $0.50 plays, the top prize is $2,500, while the top prize for $1 plays is $5,000.
Congrats to the Winner!
I get the 12/24 being xmas eve. The second one he used the month, day and year apparently. What was left out in the story is how long he has been playing those dates. He should have played 0203 if he was playing the dates the same way. Incidentally the 1224 hit on july14. The 2377 i didn't come in this year in either the daily or nightly drawing.
01/16/2020 Evening Draw=2737
07/04/2020 Evening Draw=2142
07/14/2020 Evening Draw=1224
He needed 2377 exact for the 2500.00. the box paid 200.00