“I’m better off than I ever was for sure,” Wendell said. “I don’t want you to think I’m complaining because that’s the last thing that I’m doing.”

However, there is one thing he takes issue with. In Illinois, it is a law that in order for lottery winners to collect, they must agree to have their name and photo released to the public.

“I didn’t want that, my daughter didn’t want that … that’s a law that I don’t believe in,” Wendell said. “If you were to inherit money and you wouldn’t want people to know, they wouldn’t because it would be confidential. In my case, I didn’t have a choice.”

He said he would love to see this change. He said in such a small town, word spread quickly. He doesn't like that people look at him differently.

Wendell did confess that he never meant to win the full pot.

“I was trying to win the lucky lotto, which is usually around $200,000,” he said, explaining that with one less number, his odds were better and felt like that sum would have set up his financial situation just fine. So, he went in, as he did each week and bought his ticket with some gas. He never even watched the drawing that night.