Illinois Woman Celebrates Her Birthday with $1M Scratch-Off Win: 'I Instantly Started Crying'

Lottery officials said the lucky lady selected the ticket because it was purple, her favorite color

An Illinois woman wound up with the birthday present of a lifetime thanks to a lucky lottery ticket.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified, recently visited the BP gas station on South Harlem Avenue in Palos Heights and picked out a $25 Diamond Crossword 10X for herself, Illinois Lottery officials said, according to CBS affiliate WBBM-TV and ABC affiliate WLS-TV.

The lucky lady said she selected the ticket because it was purple, her favorite color, according to FOX affiliate WFLD.

“When I scratched the ticket in my car, I kept seeing wins that were getting bigger and bigger,” she said, per the reports. "As I got to the end, I realized it was worth $1 million and I couldn’t believe it.”

Related: Man Wins $500K Lottery Prize — Then Runs Back into Store When He Realizes He Walked Out Without the Ticket!

Stunned, the woman re-entered the gas station “to double check” the ticket — and happily, it wasn’t a dream.

“I instantly started crying and my legs felt like noodles,” the woman recalled. “I didn’t think I would be able to drive home!”

Related: Man Finds Forgotten Lottery Ticket from Last Year in His Glove Compartment — and Learns He Won a Truck!

The woman told lottery officials that the winnings “will make a difference” in her life, as well as her family’s lives.

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Both she and her husband “work hard to provide” for their family, and want to give their children “all the opportunities the world has to offer,” she explained.

Related: Woman Learns She Won $135K Prize After Buying a Lottery Ticket and Forgetting About It for Months

“Never in a million years did I think my life would change in an instant like this,” the winner added.

The BP station will receive $10,000 as a bonus for selling the winning ticket, according to WBBM-TV.

Illinois Lottery did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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