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It can happen... from broke to lots of bucksNews Story
James Gatzke was struggling with depression, and living off handouts and charity, with only his seven cats for company, when he hit the jackpot.Three weeks ago, the unemployed 44-year-old was eating beef stew out of a can, and scraping by on food and cash donations from neighbours and charities.His water and power supply had long been cut off, he hadn't worked since August when he was laid off from his job as a cab driver, and he hadn't bathed in months. All I wanted for Christmas was to have di
Dec 11, 2003, 4:59 am - Lottery News

Ill. couple who resuce ticket from trash claim $10.5 million prizeNews Story
The Chicago area's garbage strike was a nuisance for many, but now it smells sweet to two lottery winners who had mistakenly thrown their $10.5 million ticket in the trash.Chicago resident Ezekiel Zeek Garnett, 27, and his sister, Karen, 24, bought an Illinois Lotto ticket Oct. 4 in Niles but threw it out without checking the numbers. Their mother then heard that a ticket sold in Niles was a winner, and she checked the trash with her daughter.Thanks to the nine-day garbage strike last month, t
Nov 28, 2003, 6:23 am - Lottery News

$10.5 mil. ticket rescued from trashNews Story
It appears that stinky, pesky garbage strike in Chicago last month wasn't so bad for everyone.For one Chicago family the strike was worth $10.5 million -- thanks to a misplaced lottery ticket and the piling-up garbage.Lottery officials said they will announce today that the winners of the Oct. 4 Illinois Lotto drawing -- a brother and sister from Chicago -- almost lost their ticket when they accidentally tossed it into the trash. Lucky for them, their mother found the ticket in the garbage, stil
Nov 26, 2003, 4:26 am - Lottery News

State plans to give lottery vendors prizes for ideas to increase salesNews Story
Illinois Lottery vendors can win prize money from a pot of $200,000 if they generate ideas on how to entice customers to buy more lottery tickets.Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration is hoping the move will increase revenue for the state, which has been battling a roughly $5 billion deficit. The state-run games of chance have seen flat or declining sales in recent years.There are two sessions, one in Hillside on Nov. 12 and another in Springfield on Nov. 20, in which vendors can enter drawings
Nov 5, 2003, 5:37 am - Lottery News

Illinois Store Sells Winning $5 Million Lottery TicketNews Story
One very lucky person who visited the Huck's convenience store in Murphysboro, Illinois this Wednesday is holding a winning lottery ticket worth up to $5 million.The winning ticket was purchased at 10:13 a.m. Wednesday at the store located at the corner of Walnut and South 20th streets. The numbers on the ticket are 2, 18, 20, 23, 30 and 39.The ticket holder had not yet stepped forward Thursday, but a spokeswoman for the Illinois Lottery in Springfield offered a strong piece of advice for the wi
Oct 31, 2003, 1:00 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Rep. Boland Wants to Add KenoNews Story
The stakes are high for state Rep. Mike Boland, D-Moline: $130 million.That's his estimate of what the state of Illinois could rake in annually if Club Keno were added to the lottery mix. Also known as Quick Draw Lotto, it is similar to a standard Lotto game with one big advantage: instead of one to five drawings per week, Keno numbers usually are drawn every five minutes.Players would know right away whether the numbers they picked matched those randomly selected by a computer. The game would e
Aug 29, 2003, 12:19 pm - Lottery News