Jesus Davila and the winning $265 million Mega Millions lottery ticket. | Illinois Lottery
(NAPERVILLE) A west suburban man won the largest prize in Illinois Lottery history at $265 million by matching all six numbers in last month’s Mega Millions drawing.
Jesus Davila, 70, accepted his oversized check Tuesday at the James R. Thompson Center after netting all six winning numbers–26, 32, 44, 45 and 48–in the Jan. 16 drawing, according to a statement from the Illinois Lottery.
The Naperville resident consulted with family members and financial advisers before coming forward two weeks ago to claim the prize, officials said. He opted to take the one-time lump sum payment, which comes out to $126,890,121 after taxes.
Davila, a retired driver, moved to the Chicago area from Puerto Rico when he was 6 years old, according to the statement. He said he plans to buy “a big house with a really big lawn” and to share the winnings with his family of three sons, a daughter and four grandchildren.
He bought the ticket at Bucky’s Express, 1202 Bloomingdale Road in Glendale Heights, which will receive a $500,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Davila’s prize topped the previous record payout from the Illinois Lottery, which was $218.6 million on a winning Mega Millions ticket claimed by Merle Butler in March 2012.
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