Geneva's 'Cookie Jar' Lottery Winner to Appear on 'Katie'

When Ricardo Cerezo looked into his cookie jar a few months ago, he found a fortune.

And on Monday, he'll find his 15 minutes of fame.

Cerezo, the Geneva resident who cashed in a $4.85 million lottery ticket on May 15, will appear Monday, July 1, on Katie, the ABC television show hosted by Katie Couric, according to an article in the Kane County Chronicle.

Cerezo and his wife won the jackpot prize in the Illinois Lottery's Feb. 2 Lotto drawing after checking some old Lottery tickets and discovering he had been socking away the winning ticket for three months. He had kept 11 unchecked Lotto tickets in the cookie jar, until his wife said he'd better check them before they expired.

The eighth ticket hit the jackpot, and the story got national attention.

One of the many cool aspects of the story is that the Cerezos really needed the money. The Chronicle article said they were "in the process of losing their Geneva home" and behind on payments when they discovered the Quick Pick winning ticket.

Another endearing aspect of the story is that, once the mortgage is paid and they share some of their winnings with their son and daughter, they plan to contribute to their church and favorite charities.

“It is very important to us that we help others with this money,” Cerezo said in the Illinois Lottery press release.

The ticket was purchased at 7-Eleven, 2411 West Sullivan Road in Aurora. The store received a bonus of $48,500 for selling a winning ticket.

After required state and federal withholding, Cerezo will receive $3.395 million.