A 66-year-old St. Joseph County man won $2 million from the Michigan Lottery after purchasing a $20 ticket from the $2,000,000 Lucky instant game. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, claimed the top prize. He told ClickOnDetroit, "I typically only play $5 and $10 tickets, but $2,000,000 Lucky was one of the newer games at the store I usually go to, so I gave it a try." After realizing that he had actually won the top prize, he opted to claim it as a one-time lump sum payment of about $1.3 million.
According to his statement to MLive, the thought of winning initially seemed so unlikely to the winner. "When I scratched off the second ‘$2MIL’ symbol I went back into the store and had the worker scan it. He handed me a slip that said to file a claim at the Lottery office and that’s when I knew I just won $2 million!" The ticket was purchased at Lightning Quick Gas N Go #11 in Sturgis, approximately 40 miles southeast of Kalamazoo. The winner has stated plans to use the $2 million prize for travel and early retirement.
The $2,000,000 Lucky game was a recent addition to the Michigan Lottery's lineup, having launched in May. Players have since won over $27 million playing the game, which still has more than $77 million in prizes remaining, including two more $2 million top prizes and numerous $2,000 prizes, as reported by MI Lottery Connect. Last year's Lotto players in Michigan won nearly $1.8 billion across various instant games.
Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli expressed congratulations to the man and his wife on their win, as detailed in an interview with MI Lottery Connect. "Trying out a new game paid off in a big way for this lucky player," she said. Meanwhile, the Michigan Lottery contributes funding to the state's School Aid Fund and advises players to check their tickets promptly. In a previous instance, a $250,000 Powerball ticket sold in Bloomfield Hills went unclaimed, and the funds were directed to support educational programs in the state.
