An Oakland County man is feeling mighty lucky after scratching off a $4 million winner on a Michigan Lottery ticket. The 67-year-old scored one of the VIP Millions instant game's heftiest prizes, the Michigan Lottery reported.
The retiree harbored a long-standing affinity for instant games, a preference that is sure to have only deepened when his routine purchase at the USA 2 Go gas station on 47300 Citygate Drive in Novi turned life-changing. "I have played Lottery games for a long time, and enjoy instant games the most," the winner conveyed to the Michigan Lottery. "When I scratched the ticket off and saw I had won $4 million I couldn’t believe it. I showed the ticket to my wife just to be sure I had won. After that, it still took a solid 24 hours before it really sank in that I was a millionaire."
When it came time to claim his winnings, the man decided to just go ahead and take a one-time lump payment of about $2.7 million, rather than waiting for the full amount in annuities, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Winning this gargantuan prize means "less stress for me and my family and gives me the chance to help my kids," he told ClickOnDetroit.
The lucky winner's windfall comes against the backdrop of the Michigan Lottery's significant contributions to public education, having funneled more than $28 billion into the system since 1972, according to the Oakland Press.
