A Chicago mom won $400,000 on a $5 ticket, and it was the last top prize in the game
A Chicago mother of three has claimed a $400,000 top prize on a $5 In the Money scratch-off from the Illinois Lottery, bought at California Enterprises in the Gage Park neighborhood. She first scanned the ticket at a store kiosk, then again on the lottery app, then kept scanning.
"I thought I was losing my mind. I lost track of how many times I checked the results," she said. She plans to put the money toward her children's education, and to surprise them with a back-to-school shopping trip before the new school year.
It was the last top prize remaining
In the Money printed exactly three top prizes of $400,000, and with this claim all three top prizes are gone. The game went on sale September 2, 2025, and the counter now reads zero for the $400,000 top prize.
It is still sold in stores but the Illinois Lottery website says the game is ending soon. About 76.9% of the print run has sold, which leaves roughly a quarter of the tickets out there in Illinois stores, each of them advertising a $400,000 top prize that no longer exists to be won. The largest prize still available is $10,000, and two of the original eight remain. Below that sit ten of fifty $1,000 prizes and 115 of 598 at $500.
What that does to the ticket
In the Money now rates 20.5 on our ValueScore™, near the bottom of the Illinois rack, and the collapse is entirely down to the empty top tier. The rest of the game is unchanged. It still returns 72.1% of sales as prizes across the full print run, which is a fair number for a $5 ticket, and its published overall odds are still 1 in 4.99.
Her instinct to keep scanning was sound, incidentally. A store kiosk and the lottery app both read the barcode rather than the scratched play area, so a prize of this size shows up as a message telling the holder to file a claim rather than an amount. Winners at the top end routinely describe not quite believing the screen, and checking twice or more to make sure.
For anyone heading to a Gage Park counter hoping to repeat it, the new advice is to pick a different game. Current scores for every Illinois ticket are on our Illinois rankings.
Sources
NBC Chicago: Chicago mom wins big on $5 Illinois Lottery scratch-off ticket
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the $400,000 Illinois scratch-off prize?
A Chicago mother of three who has not been named publicly. She bought the $5 In the Money ticket at California Enterprises in the Gage Park neighborhood and claimed the game’s $400,000 top prize. She plans to invest in her children’s education and take them on a back-to-school shopping trip.
Are there any $400,000 prizes left in In the Money?
No. The game printed three top prizes of $400,000 and our tracking shows all three have now been claimed. It remains on sale at Illinois retailers with about 23% of its print run unsold, and the largest prize still available is $10,000, with two of the original eight left.
How much does a $400,000 scratch-off winner keep in Illinois?
Federal withholding takes 24%, or $96,000, and Illinois withholds its flat 4.95%, or $19,800, leaving about $284,200 at the claim. A $400,000 prize sits in the 35% federal bracket, so more is due at filing. If the prize were her only income for the year, total federal tax would be nearer $110,000 than the $96,000 withheld, leaving roughly $270,000.
Jessie Jurado is a news writer who covers new scratch-off launches, state lottery guides, taxes on winnings, news, and much more. She joined ScratchCheck in 2026 and writes the site's state-by-state coverage.
