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Co-workers thought they won $350 in the lottery — then they noticed a life-changing detail

The duo has been buying tickets together for a long time and had promised to split a big prize.
PUBLISHED FEB 9, 2026
Representational picture of a woman happily looking at her lottery ticket (Cover image source: Getty Images | Alexi Rosenfeld)
Representational picture of a woman happily looking at her lottery ticket (Cover image source: Getty Images | Alexi Rosenfeld)

Surprises might not be everyone's thing, but when it involves money, no one would turn down such an offer. That is what happened to two co-workers who had recently purchased lottery tickets. After the results of the draw were made public, they believed that they had only won $350. Everything changed later on when one of them realized that they missed seeing an additional three zeros at the end. In fact, they had won a whopping $350,000, as per a recent report in People.

George Hollins buys a Powerball ticket at the Shell Gateway | Getty Images | Photo by Joe Raedle
Representative image of a lottery ticket | Getty Images | Photo by Joe Raedle

Randy and April have been buying lottery tickets together for a long time, and they promised to split the winnings if they ever won big. People around discouraged them, saying they’d never win, but that never stopped them from trying. “People always told us, ‘You’re never going to win,’” Randy had said, per the lottery. “But we’d laugh and say, ‘One day we’ll hit it.’” Well, that is exactly what happened.

Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by dylan nolte
Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by dylan nolte

The winning Lucky Day Lotto game ticket was purchased from the Jewel-Osco at 177 E. Roosevelt Rd., in West Chicago, and it had the winning numbers 2-4-6-27-39. Randy had picked it up on the way to the doctor’s office along with his wife. “I was taking my wife to a doctor’s appointment and decided to make a quick stop. We were at the right place at the right time,” he said. At first, he thought he had only won $350.

Balbir Atwal, owner of the California 7-Eleven that sold one of the 3 Powerball winning tickets, holds up a $1 million check after received from the California State Lottery, | Getty Images | Photo by Ringo Chiu
Representative image of a lottery winner. | Getty Images | Photo by Ringo Chiu

However, April checked the lottery app and discovered that they had actually won a lot more. “We were in total disbelief,” she said. “At first, Randy thought we’d only won $350 and joked about buying more tickets. When I checked the app and saw it was $350,000, everything changed.” The two said that their winnings will go toward property investments, retirement savings, and a vacation.

“My wife wants to go to Ireland,” Randy added. “But since I don’t fly, I might be getting a tattoo instead.” He and April are not the only people who profited from the win. The report claims that the Illinois Lottery said the Jewel-Osco location will receive $3,500 as a bonus for selling the winning ticket. The lucky day Lotto ticket has seen big winners in the recent past.

Image Source: A customer purchases a lottery ticket | Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Representative image of a customer purchasing a lottery ticket | Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

One such instance occurred during Christmas last year when one woman also won a $350,000 prize. She believed that it was a glitch after receiving the mail from the lottery. When she realized that it was real, she almost collapsed, as per another People report. “I almost had a panic attack,” the woman said. “I immediately checked the Illinois Lottery app to make sure." She said that she’d take her husband to Alaska with that money, which was a long-time dream of his.

More on Market Realist

Illinois Lottery’s first $1 million ticket of 2026 was bought without visiting a store

A $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot went unclaimed for almost a month — until now

Massachusetts man wins $1 million lottery — but ends up losing over $300,000 because of one decision

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