Bouncing up and down with excitement, Minooka, Illinois, resident Janet Gossett said she and her husband plan to use their lottery winnings to go to Minnesota and see Walnut Grove, a town made famous on "Little House on the Prairie."
Craig and Janet Gossett of Minooka began Wednesday in Chicago, picking up the check for $11.25 million that they won in the Illinois Lottery over the weekend. Like many recent lottery winners, the Gossets plan to use the money pay off bills.
Although the check will list $11.25 million, the couple has opted for a lump sum payment and will collect $8,290,350.
A Romeoville native, husband Craig is a truck driver for Black Horse Carriers in Dwight — an ordinary Joe now thrust into a multimillion dollar world.
"I don't know. Until I can see the money in the bank, it's something different," he said of how he feels about the win. "I always told my friends that I was going to win the lottery."
Residents of Minooka for a decade, the couple moved here in 2001 because they said they enjoy the country feeling. Janet Gossett is a 10-year cervical cancer survivor and the couple cannot have children. Janet Gossett is on disability but spends her time helping others in the community, including getting gas and groceries for her elderly neighbors.
At the check presentation, Craig Gossett told attendees that despite working five days a week delivering food to Aldi, he and his wife had begun the process to file bankruptcy. Now, he said, they do not have to do that.
"Me and my wife were struggling for three years and I fell behind on my credit card," Craig Gossett said. "Now I have to call my lawyer and tell him."
The couple, who do not own their mobile home, plan to buy a house in neighboring Morris and would like to take a modest vacation to Minnesota.
The winning ticket was purchased in Morris at the BP Fast N Fresh. The winning numbers for the Dec. 10, 2011 Illinois Lotto drawing — 7-10-15-16-40 and 44 — do not hold any special significance for the couple. Ordinarily, Craig Gossett plays the couples' anniversaries and birthdays, but the winning ticket was a Quick Pick.
The Gossetts said they do not want to let the money change who they are. And, in the short time that they have been millionaires, they've already made the decision to help others. The couple say they're going to let a friend stay in their mobile home for free and Craig plans to fix up his existing truck and give it to his brother.
"One of the best parts of being a lottery supervisor is to meet winners, because they are so blessed and have such great stories," Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones said at the check presentation.
Hopefully,
I'm next to be saved tonight!
Congrats to the winning couple...So nice to hear some Good news this time of year.
when someone say's "i don't know. until i can see the money in the bank,it's something different,"
then i have full confidence this winner will be smart w/ the money.
i see you are new here, are you quitting lp as well ?
well should be curious story from here on out
Congrats to the winners and I am glad that they do not have to file bankruptcy because that sucks. Hopefully they will enjoy the money they won.-weshar75
I don't see what a story posted here on Lottery Post has to do with making you spend your money. I'm happy you're quitting, one less disgruntled
player in line complaining or just in general about not winning anything.
Congratulations to the lucky couple...
me too ;)
Almost filing for bankruptcy and still having faith in the lottery and winning the jp is one heck of a story.
It just goes to show that the home the jackpot decides to visit is really random and meaningless. Nice
I'm quiting 2 because i just find out the lottery is a hoax to get people hard earn money. Worst of all, the government involve it. It is another way to collect tax money. I just found out all those pledge they say money willl go to education is not true. I advise you to quit playing the lottery 2 because you will realize that you are throwing your money away. Truth is nobody really wins big jackpot as they claim.
what happened to the post i was replying to ?
one about no longer playing ?
Dont be upset Mark/Lukep that you havent won and some people are winning. Its supposed to be that way, one winner and one million losers. I agree with you the part of the government taking a huge chunk of the pool money and further taxing the jp after someone has won. Thats just greed.
Thanks Todd! I was going to suggest that you post this story. I was recently in Kenosha Wisconsin and I picked up a Illinois lottery ticket for 15 advance drawings on the way back to Alaska (so I had a chance in that drawing) Nice to see it go to someone who can really use it. Oh well I still have 11 draws left on that Illinois ticket and I also have advance tickets for the Wisconsin Megabucks drawing tonight! (Sure would be nice to win both, but if I had a choice it would be megabucks since the jackpot is higher) Be nice to win that jackpot right before the holidays, but I guess that is true for a lot of people around the country.
Like Warren Buffet once said: Rule #1 Don't lose money
Rule #2 Don't forget Rule #1
AS for me ................ hoping for my big win on Friday !!!!!!!!!!
i'm not sure these illinoisite's or minnesotaite's realize how much money they've won. a modest vacation all the way up to minnesota in the dead of winter? fixing up an old truck to give away? why not trade it in and get new one for that person. filing bankruptcy over 1 credit card? cheaper to default even though now they don't have to. they sound old and don't have to worry about outliving their cash that's for sure. they should be buying a 500,000.00 house at the very least with all the extras and top of the line new vehicles. they sound too frugal to be playing the lottery in the first place. lucky them that they won, but they won too much. no clue what to do with it. i see this a lot. people over 65 who won't even play unless it is a gazillion dollar jackpot. unable to gauge or know what to do with it.
i think i may have said this before,but,
" you got a bad habit of telling ppl. what to do"
Craig,junk your old truck and get your brother a new one.Ok?.And get your friend a new house!.Junk that mobile home of yours.OMG,I can't believe it.
I totally agree DR! You have to play to win. Don't play with scared money. If you win, you don't have to re-spend it all with the hopes of winning again and again, because it won't happen like that. You will sometimes win when you least expect it, or win when you think you are overdue. For me it's not enough until I win a huge jackpot, something that would enable me to payoff everything or most of it, and go on a vaca. Until that happens, again, I enjoy playing and usually over-play, but don't get too pissed when I do lose. I hope everyone wins enough to keep playing, or win something big and spread the wealth. I hate seeing complaints as well, but I've done it myself, haven't we all? Good Luck
don't beleive everything you read folks. the writer probably wrote it that way to make them seem frugal. in truth, they're probably driving around in a new hummer right now in the middle of colorado.
I hope the next winner is from the lottery post. (:
merely commenting on an irrational use of their money. they could buy walnut grove. fixing up an old truck for his brother. if i were the brother i'd drive it head first into their trailer. 8 million dollars and they can't spring for a new one for him. get real. as for you try driving the wrong way on the atlantic city expressway on a friday night while watching reruns of the A-team.
Then you are going to spend the rest of your life hoping my friend. Trust me I know what I'm saying. I don't want to reveal how I know in here. But he lottery is another that the government create to take more of people money. This is why the lottery can't be ban because it is a corrupted shiit. So throw your money away and let me know when you hit the jackpot big because there is no such thing. Think about it. Lfe is not as easy as the lottery portray it. They make it look like $1 can win you millions of dollars, when the truth is its not. The worst thing about it is that many people actually believe in it and go spend their dollar in the hope of winning many millions. Are you kidding me man. thats common sense. Imagine how many people who fall for this shiit. I was stupid once to believe it until I gather information from a secret sources. As a result, I lost all my money. Worst of all, I had to do things I never did before. I had to steal and in a worst ocassion I had to suck ballz.
pumpi?
Seriously.
People can hope and it only costs most of them a few dollars. This is the sane approach. Play and hope your numbers are drawn, if they aren't try
again for a few dollars more.
The insane approach is your way...spend all your money and then blame it on some government plot to rob the lottery playing community?
That's a hot one.
Didn't you know the odds going in? Or did you think you could cover them all if you spent however much 'all your money' was?
" I was stupid once to believe it until I gather information from a secret sources. As a result, I lost all my money. Worst of all, I had to do things I never did before. I had to steal and in a worst ocassion I had to suck ballz."
Congratulations to the jackpot winner. I didn't know why they were bankrupt before winning the lotto.
Wow so all thes stories about people winning are made up than? I better tell a lady that won 17.9 million in i think it was 1989 that those check she received for 20 years werent real. She lives about 1 mile from me in this big house her and her husband built right after her supposed win. I wonder how she got those checks annually for 500 and some thousand dollars?
You are right dude. Maybe i'm upset about the fact that I never won anything as big like I wsih for. I'm a great believer that anything can happen. It just that the odds is so crazy that it made me think that its almost impossible for anybody to win. But I know that couldn't be a hoax. maybe i'm right or wrong. But if i'm wrong that would have been the biggest scheme ever. I gotta get up anf get back to the game, but only thing is that I gott acontrol how much I spend on each ticket.
Lukep You say the odds are so great its almost impossible for somebody to win. Your right there about the odds being so great. Its over 150 million to 1 of hitting the powerball or megamillions. But people do hit tham. Remember whan your playing that you probably arent going to hit the jackpot so dont spend money that you cant afford to lose. The lady i was referring to was at a Kroger store and she got back 2 one dollar bills with her change. She took the 2 dollars and played that on an auto pick.
I had thought the same thing myself until this happened.... This is one of my dad's family members so it aint no lie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!