Cubs Fan is Set for Life

Chicago Cubs fans experienced a win they never expected when Christy Davis won $100,000 a year for the rest of her life in the Illinois Lottery's "Set for Life" grand finale event just before the first pitch.

Since the end of May, Lottery players across the state mailed in $30 worth of non-winning, instant tickets to qualify for the promotion. Each week, the Lottery drew a new finalist for a total of 16 who qualified to participate in the grand finale event at Wrigley field. During the live finale, each would learn which prize they'd won from a prize pool that included the cash equivalent of a new-leased car, the cash equivalent of a fabulous vacation for a lifetime or the $100,000 a year grand prize.

Davis waited anxiously for more than two months since she first learned she was a "Set for Life" finalist. While the 33-year-old winner says she's not going to quit her job as a 911 operator for the city of Aurora, she did say, "No more overtime."

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I don't believe it," said Davis the moment she found out she won $100,000 every year for the rest of her life.

Accompanied by "Set for Life" agents, the 16 finalists gathered on the field immediately preceding the game - a treat in itself for most finalists, many of whom were long-time Chicago Cubs fans. Enormous baseball cards with their week number waited for them on the warning track and each finalist lined up in front of their card. At a cue given by Illinois Lottery Director of Marketing Sarah Cummins, the finalists peeled off the covering of the ticket and 10 players won cash for a vacation every year for life. The remaining six finalists saw a pot of gold on their tickets, meaning that they remained in the running for the grand prize.

At this point, both Cubs fans and the remaining "Set for Life" finalists were waiting anxiously because not only was someone going to walk away with $100,000 every year for the rest of their lives, but 1,000 Cubs fans were on the verge of having the opportunity to change their lives in an instant. This was because as Cubs fans entered the game, 16,000 received a baseball card that corresponded to one of the "Set for Life" finalists. Each Cubs fan who held a baseball card that corresponded to the grand prize winner was going to win a chance to become a millionaire themselves with a free "$250 Million - Millionaires Club" instant ticket, the new Lottery game with 30 top prizes of $1 million.

The "Set for Life" agents had another twist up their sleeves. Each agent carried an attache case that the players had randomly picked that morning. However, in "Deal or no Deal" fashion players had the opportunity to keep their previously picked case or take the new one that waited for them on the field. Each of the six finalists knew that only one case held the key to the grand prize. After being signaled from Cummins, the agents opened the attache cases for each of the six finalists and the winner was finally revealed.

Davis says she already has a plan for her first $100,000, "First, I'm going to hire a financial advisor so I can invest and save my winnings; and then I'm coordinating a Hawaiian vacation for my family."

"The 'Set for Life' finale was breathtaking," said Illinois Lottery Superintendent Carolyn Adams. "It was over in minutes, but I don't think a single person in the stadium let out their breath the entire time."

"Set for Life" was the Lottery's largest ever second-chance promotion, with $200 million in total available prizes. Hopeful players sent in more than $580 thousand e

2006-10-02