Naperville Man Comes Forward as Illinois Mega Millions Winner
Wednesday February 25th 2015A 70-year-old Naperville resident has revealed himself as the winner of the biggest lottery prize in Illinois Lottery history. Jesus Davila Jr., a former professional driver, won $270 million after he purchased five dollars’ worth of Quick Pick tickets for the draw on Friday January 16th from a convenience store in Glendale Heights. The winning numbers for that draw were 26, 32, 44, 45 and 58 with Mega Ball 11 and Megaplier 3. Visit the Mega Millions Results page to learn more about the drawing.
While watching the drawing at home, Davila wrote down the winning numbers so he could compare them to his own lines. Believing that he had matched all five main numbers to win $1 million, he showed the ticket to his son, who saw that his father had actually matched all six numbers.
At yesterday’s press conference in the Thompson Center, it was revealed that Davila chose to take a lump sum payment of $178 million. After taxes, he will receive almost $127 million. He plans to make donations to his favourite charities.
Davila, originally from Puerto Rico, has experienced an incredible change in fortunes; he previously served 12 years in prison for manufacturing and delivering cocaine. His spokesman Robert Kolt described him as a “good person” who had “paid his debt to society”. Davila described himself as a regular person who just happened to get lucky, and that he wanted to buy a “big house with a really big lawn...and a riding lawnmower.”
The convenience store that sold the winning ticket will receive a commission of $500,000. Davila’s spokesman says that his client will continue to buy lottery tickets in the future.