Chicago man used lottery numbers that felt like a 'message' from his late wife. Then, he won $650,000.

Lottery largely depends on luck but some rely on statistics while other bet on their hunch when they pick the numbers. A man from Chicago bagged a mega $650,000 lottery prize by selecting the numbers that were very close to his heart. The lucky winner who chose to be identified as "Big D Money" told the Illinois Lottery that the Lucky Day Lotto game that he won wasn't his go-to option. However, he felt a calling to play the game and chose a combination of numbers related to his late wife that led to his jackpot win. “I picked numbers related to my late wife,” he said. “When I won, it felt like it was a message from her.” 

A Message From Beyond

Big Money D won the life-changing sum by matching all five jackpot numbers. The combination 9-11-12-13-17 was close to his heart but a coincidence played a part in his win as well.  “I typically play Pick 4 but that day, I noticed that the Lucky Day Lotto jackpot was pretty high so I decided to switch it up and try something new,” said the winner at the press conference. 

The winning ticket was purchased by the winner on November 16 while shopping at his local store, Mariano's. Big D Money shared that he was shaken after discovering that he had won, and it took an entire day for it to sink in. “I’m still so shocked and excited about the win, I have barely been able to sleep!” he said while collecting the check. 

The winner further shared that the sum would have a great impact on his life. He said he was looking at properties in the neighborhood and couldn't wait to purchase the dream house for him and his kids. "It truly is a dream come true," he said. 

As for the Mariano's located in North Sheridan, the store will receive 10% of the prize or about $6,500 as a bonus for selling the winning ticket. There were more than 27,600 winning Lucky Day Lotto tickets purchased for the same draw earlier in November,  and players netted a total of over $724,000 in prizes.

Fortune Finds its Way

While Big D Money got his winning numbers through the memories of his late wife, a man from North Carolina found them in a fortune cookie. Marking another case of unusual fortunes, Charles W. Jackson Jr., won the Powerball jackpot of $344 million.

The 66-year-old thanked his granddaughter for ordering the fortune cookie, during a visit to a Vietnamese restaurant. He told the lottery officials that the combination of numbers was printed on the back of the paper that he found inside the cookie.

“You play to win, but you never really expect to win the whole dang pot,” Jackson told North Carolina Education Lottery officials. Even after discovering that he had won the prize, Jackson didn't believe it was the jackpot. He initially thought he had only won $50,000 but upon re-checking the last few digits, he realized that he had hit the jackpot.  “I said, ‘Dang, I got them all,” he recalled at the press conference.  Jackson chose to take the lump sum cash and take home a whopping $223.3 million after taxes.