Small-town win spreads quickly as residents flock to lucky gas station
By Kate Northrop
MT. CARMEL, Ill. — An Illinois resident is retiring his wife early after receiving a $1 million payday on a $5 lottery ticket, and other locals are flocking to the lucky retailer hoping for a similar stroke of luck.
An Illinois man won a $1 million prize on a $5 lottery ticket, and because of it, his wife can afford an early retirement.
David Sharp of Mt. Carmel made a decision that would allow him and his wife to achieve a milestone way ahead of schedule. He purchased a scratch-off ticket from Marathon Gas on West 9th Street in Mt. Carmel, a $5 game called "Cash Grab."
"I'm always drawn to the games with bigger prizes, especially the ones with multipliers," Sharp explained to Illinois Lottery officials. "That's what caught my eye with Cash Grab. I scratched it in my truck and couldn't believe what I was seeing."
He got out of the truck and walked right back into the gas station convenience store to have the clerk verify that his suspicions were true.
"I was in shock," he recalled. "I just stood there thinking, 'No way this is real.' I had to double-check it to be sure."
He was ecstatic to tell his wife, Angie, about the win because it meant sharing a fun celebration — it meant an early retirement from a dedicated career working in the cafeteria of a local grade school for 25 years.
"I told her, 'You're not going to believe this — we won a million dollars!'" Sharp said in a press release. "She's never missed a day of work. This means she can finally retire sooner than we thought."
Mt. Carmel is a city located on the edge of the Illinois-Indiana border with a population of just over 7,000. News of the win spread fast, and it's changed the way residents see the local gas station.
"Some of our friends and family found out before we even had a chance to tell them," the winner laughed with Lottery staff. "Now everyone's heading to that gas station trying their luck."
For selling the winning ticket, the retailer receives a $10,000 bonus, or 1% of the prize amount.
With the winnings, the couple plans on buying a new truck and embarking on a fun outing to an aquarium, something they've been excited to do for a while.
"I'm just grateful," Sharp added. "It's a blessing for both of us."
Sharp claimed the first of three available top prizes of $1 million in the $5 "Cash Grab" scratch-off game, leaving two top prizes left to claim. There are also 9 out of 12 second-tier prizes of $10,000 and 43 out of 70 third-tier prizes of $1,000 remaining in the game, which launched in August.
The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.96.
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"Retiring his wife" ??? Perhaps helping his wife retire.
Congrats to the winner.
i guess they edited the article since your comment, but now that you mention it, it would be pretty funny if we got an honest lottery winner who said they were going to replace their spouse with a newer model.
Opening line still says it. One retires racehorses and pieces of equipment. It makes her sound like an object. "MT. CARMEL, Ill. — An Illinois resident is retiring his wife early..."
Perhaps add helping his wife retire early...
No offense to the author.
Congratulations 🎉 on the win.
I am happy for the couple.
I can't tell the age of the couple, but one of the biggest challenge of lottery winners is the loss of routine and purpose.
Having done what she did for 25 years, I feel she liked it. A good option would be to scale down on the hours, maybe go in twice or thrice a week and keep that routine and purpose.
If I won the jackpot, I would not retire, but I would change what I do. Maybe do photography and automotive repairs.
But again, we all have different aspirations and am happy for the couple - enjoy the early retirement 🙏
ah yes, i see it. that's what i get for only reading the titles. maybe it's meant as a joke.
Congrats! I would get a new truck too!
Congrats to the lucky couple.