It was a surprise jackpot.
Two coworkers from Illinois thought they’d only pocketed $350 on a recent lottery ticket — but were left “in total disbelief” after finding out they missed a few zeros and had actually won $350,000.
Randy and April of Ashton, Illinois, have been trying their luck with lottery tickets for years — but the coworkers struck gold when an early January Lucky Day Lotto drawing delivered an unexpected result.
Randy purchased the winning ticket on Jan. 7 at a West Chicago supermarket, Jewel Osco, on route to his wife’s doctor’s appointment.
“I was taking my wife to a doctor’s appointment and decided to make a quick stop,” Randy told NBC 5 Chicago.
“We were at the right place at the right time,” he said.
Randy believed the ticket was only worth $350 — but after checking the Illinois Lottery app, April discovered it was worth much more — one thousand times more to be exact.
“We were in total disbelief,” April told the local outlet. “Randy joked about buying more tickets with the $350. When I saw it was actually $350,000, everything changed,” she said.
The pair plan to split their lucky winnings and put them to good use — funding their retirement savings and property investments.
The coworkers weren’t the only people from Illinois who pocketed big earnings from the Lucky Day Lotto recently — with a local Illinois woman, dubbed ‘Work Mom,’ winning $350,000 from a similar draw.
The mother selected numbers to represent the her and her children’s birthdays – which luckily matched the five numbers of the winning draw.
The ‘Work Mom’ received an email on Dec. 25 saying that she had won big, but assumed it “was a glitch” before confirming her win on the Illinois Lottery app.
“I felt optimistic when I played those numbers,” the mom said. “It turned out to be a Christmas Day blessing.”
She has already cashed in her prize — and plans to put her winnings towards a trip to Alaska, her daughter’s education, and investments.
Lucky Day Lotto draws happen twice a day — with jackpots starting at a staggering $100,000, but are only available in Illinois.