Mr. Luck

SUN CITY – If you’re trying for a big score in the Illinois Lottery, Sun City’s Bill Reining has a suggestion for you:

Buy your next ticket at a store you’ve never been to before, or at least one where you’ve never bought a lottery ticket before.
This technique worked for Reining on April 26 for a prize of $325,000.

A seven-year resident of Neighborhood 28, Reining has been an on-and-off player in the Illinois Lottery’s Lucky Day Lotto, one of the most popular games in the state’s program.

Sun City resident Bill Reining recently won a $325,000 Lucky
Day Lotto jackpot at Drendel’s Corner. Chris La Pelusa/Sun Day Photo

“I don’t buy a ticket every day or week, but I go fairly frequently,” he said. “I like the fun of testing my luck without investing a lot of money.”
Reining usually buys tickets at a couple of establishments he visits regularly in the Huntley area. But on April 26, he decided to go to Drendel’s Corner at Route 47 and Del Webb Blvd.

“I don’t recall why; I just decided to buy a ticket there for the first time,” he said. “I bought a $4 ticket in the Lucky Day Lottery, which used to be called the Little Lottery. I knew I could check my ticket that night online to get the results. I was really surprised to see I matched all five numbers. I knew the top prize was about $325,000, but I didn’t find out until later that I was the only winner that week.”

After the IRS took the first $100,000 out of the prize, Reining took home $225,000. Drendel’s Corner got 1 percent of the prize, or $3,125. The “check is in the mail” notice arrived from lottery officials last Friday, June 7.

Bill and his wife, Jacqueline, are quiet, laid back, unassuming people who are happy and excited to experience this windfall, but they are doing it in a very quiet, low-key way.

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. I don’t like to promote myself,” he said.

“We haven’t had a big party with a lot of friends and family,” Jacqueline said. “Our family members are very ex¬cited about it, but we haven’t had any big celebration.”

Bill is a retired service manager in the HVAC industry. He likes to fish and play golf.

“After I won, I went fishing with friends up in Wisconsin,” he said. “But it was more of a pre-planned trip, not a recreational reaction to winning the money.”

Reining said he won $2,500 several years ago in the Little Lotto.

“I’ve also gotten my money back a few times by winning small prizes, but now I’ve really improved my profits,” he joked. “I also don’t pick my own numbers. I just use the quick-pix method and let the computer select the numbers for me.”

He said he plans to pay off personal debts and help his three children pay off theirs.

“I have a son out in Boston who is starting work on his doctorate in psychology, and he has some outstanding student loans. We also have some health issues to take care of. This will make our retire¬ment and my kids’ futures a little happier, enjoyable, and less stressful,” he said.

Asked if he plans big vacations or major purchases, he said, “No, at least not now.”

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