A 70-year-old Naperville man who lottery officials said won the largest prize in Illinois history came forward to claim his prize.
Although he didn't make any comments on his win, Jesus Davila Jr. was presented with the large, symbolic check, during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
“Mr. Davila did not come forward right away but he did research into what to do with this kind of enormous windfall, which is what we wish every lottery winner would do," said Michael Jones, director of the Illinois Lottery. "He spent a couple of weeks doing that then reached out and contacted us. We met with him and his representatives to make sure this was the winning ticket. A ticket is not a winning ticket until it’s verified by the lottery.”
He said he bought his winning ticket on a Friday at 6:19 p.m from Bucky’s Express in Glendale Heights.
He matched all six numbers in the Jan. 16 Mega Millions drawing on his $5 Quick Pick ticket. The winning numbers were 26, 32, 44, 45, 58, 11.
Davila, who has four children and four grandchildren, opted to collect his winnings in one lump sum instead of receiving the $265 million over the course of 30 years. He'll be walking away with $127 million after taxes.
The news of Davila's win came fewer than two weeks after a $1 million Powerball ticket was sold in Illinois.
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“He’s retired, a professional driver," said his representative Robert Kolt. "And now his dream is to buy a home. He told me [he wanted to buy] a big home with a big lawn so that he can get a big lawnmower and drive it all the time.”
