Would You Pay $1,000 for this Ticket?

It's almost like winning the lottery. 

Skokie native and now Morton Grove resident Victor Vlahos picked up a $5 scratch-and-win ticket called Win $2,500 a Week for Life!, a new game by the Illinois Lottery. As the title suggests, the grand prize is a weekly paycheck of $2,500 a week for as long as you live. 

By the time he was through scratching all 15 boxes, Vlahos couldn't believe his eyes. 

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I thought this could be it."

Every box he scratched was a winner -- all 15. However, Vlahos didn't scratch off any of the prizes, a habit he's done as long as he can remember. At this point, he knew he had a winner, but not for how much. 

Vlahos would later show a friend at work--an engineer who offered him $1,000 cash for the ticket. Vlahos ultimately declined. 

"He told me he would go straight to the bank and withdraw the money," Vlahos said. "If he had the cash and put it in front of my face right there, I probably would have taken it."

What was the final payout? 

In the end, Vlahos scratched off the prizes and won $50. In retrospect, he said, "I wish I took that $1,000 offer."