Jackpot Janitor Known As Speedy Cleans Up With $2 Million From Illinois Lottery
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$2M winner Dave Martinez is known as 'Speedy' for how quickly he gets his janitorial work done. PHOTO: Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press
At first he was happy with the $100,000 he scratched off a Merry Millionaire game, then looked closer. It was a much bigger prize than he thought.
New Trier High School District 203 custodian Dave Martinez explained: "I started scratching off on the dining room table and thought it was just a hundred thousand at first."
"And then I looked at it again and it said a hundred thousand times twenty and was just mind-boggling," Martinez said.
Dave Martinez with his Merry Millionaire ticket at the Illinois Lottery.
But the first thing his wife, Mary, told the 60-year-old on Nov. 19, moments after he realized he'd won $2 million with the Illinois Lottery ticket he bought along with his morning hot chocolate, was to calm down and breathe.
PHOTO: Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press
"I was hysterical," Martinez said Tuesday. "I was jumping around and I went in and woke her up to tell her the news.
At first she thought I was playing a joke, and then she told me to settle down – and not to forget to sign the back of the ticket.
The Citgo station at Grand Ave in Gurnee where Dave Martinez bought his ticket along with a chocolate drink.
Martinez has worked as a custodian in the New Trier High School district since 1982. The staff has nicknamed him "Speedy" for how quickly he moves and gets his work done.
"Oh yeah, they call me speedy," he said. "When they ask for a task to be done I go take care of it as soon as possible."
Martinez's co-workers say the hard-working maintenance man deserves every penny.
Dave Conway, facilities manager at New Trier says it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
"My first thought was it couldn't have happened to a nice guy," said Dave Conway, facilities manager at New Trier.
His recent good fortune aside, Martinez has no plans to quit his job at the high school.
"I still enjoy working here with the teachers and students and faculty and my co-workers and stuff," Martinez said.
It may take four to eight weeks to get his first check, but Martinez has already made his first big purchase.
A Cherokee Jeep similar to the one Dave Martinez has bought in advance of collecting his winnings.
"I spoiled myself a little, because I knew the money was coming," he said. "I bought a Cherokee Jeep SUV."
After retirement, he plans to go on a trip to Hawaii, and probably a trip to Daytona Beach, since he's a NASCAR fan.
Martinez has no plans to quit his job at the high school.
He wants to help his three grown children with some of his winnings, and he plans to invest the rest, he said, then spend more time biking and staying active.
