GENEVA, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago man who says he had a mountain of bills and was facing eviction is now a multi-millionaire thanks to a lottery ticket he bought months ago and only recently found in a cookie jar in his kitchen.
On Wednesday, the Illinois Lottery handed Ricardo Cerezo of Geneva a large commemorative check for $4.85 million — the result of matching all six numbers in the Feb. 2 Lotto drawing.
Cerezo says his wife found 11 tickets while cleaning the kitchen and told him to see if any were worth anything. Cerezo had bought the Quick Pick ticket at an area convenience store and took them to a nearby gas station to scan them. It was then he discovered he’d won.
