Two best friends on a routine trip back from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan found themselves instant millionaires after a stop at a local mart led to a $2 million lottery win. The pair, part of a Genesee County lottery club, purchased the winning ticket during a pit stop at the Trout Lake Speedy Mart, where they had also decided to grab some drinks. According to Detroit Free Press, the club's representative said to the Michigan Lottery, "We were on our way home and stopped at the Trout Lake Speedy Mart to get something to drink and grabbed a few Lottery tickets while we were there. I was driving, so the other club member scratched the tickets once we got on the road."
The decision to buy the 100X instant game ticket, which cost $20, quickly turned to be a life-changing one when one of the club members began to scratch it off after they got on the road. "When I scratched off the prize amount of $2 million, my heart started pounding and I felt like I was having a heart attack," the club member told Detroit Free Press.
The friends chose a lump sum of about $1.3 million before taxes instead of annuity payments for the $2 million prize. They plan to use the money to travel to Florida, pay off bills, and live debt-free. "Winning a $2 million Lottery prize is incredible and winning it with your best friend makes it even better!" Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli said in a WZZM13 report.
Trout Lake, the location of the Speedy Mart where the winning ticket was bought, is situated roughly 30 miles northwest of Saint Ignace. Since the 100X game's inception in January, it has been a lucrative venture for players, with more than $37 million won to date. However, despite stories of good fortune, there's always a side note of caution for players to promptly check their tickets; a Powerball winner in Bloomfield Hills learned this the hard way after a $250,000 prize went unclaimed in 2024, as per mLIVE.
