Aug. 26 (UPI) -- An Illinois man scored a $200,000 top prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket thanks to the store he visited being sold out of the ticket he had originally intended to buy.
Montgomery resident Clarence Neuenkirchen told Illinois Lottery officials he had a specific scratch-off game in mind when he stopped at the Jewel-Osco store on Orchard Road in Oswego.
"I was hoping to buy my favorite $5 Crossword ticket, but it was sold out," Neuenkirchen said. "7X Bingo Multiplier is my second favorite -- it feels like a little escape. I can take my time playing it."
Neuenkirchen left the store with his second-choice ticket, and ended up scoring a $200,000 prize. He said the first person he told was his wife.
"I honestly thought she was going to break the floor -- she kept jumping up and down," he said.
