Man finds winning $4.85 million lottery ticket in cookie jar
Ricardo Cerezo, of Geneva, Illinois, got an extremely sweet surprise after looking in his cookie jar recently and finding a winning lottery ticket.
An Illinois man made a sweet discovery at the bottom of his cookie jar.
Ricardo Cerezo, of Geneva, who was facing eviction, found a winning $4.85 million lottery ticket in the jar, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“It couldn’t have happened at a better time," Cerezo, a management consultant, told reporters.
"I just thought, this is how God works."
Cerezo said his wife was cleaning out the kitchen and told him that the 11 lottery tickets he had accumulated in a cookie jar needed to be checked or she would put them in the trash.
Cerezo, 44, took them to a nearby store and while he had no luck with the first 8 tickets, the next one from the February 2 draw was a winner.
"I'm awestruck, this is unbelievable," he said, ABC News reported.
He and his wife plan to use the money to pay off their mortgage and other bills, share a portion with their son and daughter, and donate to their church and favorite charities., NBC reported.
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us reach our $25,000 goal and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer.