Last-minute lottery decision earns Michigan man $500,000
by Ben Hooper · UPIJune 18 (UPI) -- A Michigan man's last-minute decision to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket ended up earning him a $500,000 prize.
The 58-year-old Wayne County man told Michigan Lottery officials his good luck struck during a trip to the Kroger store on West 14 Mile Road in Commerce Township.
"I was on my way out of the store because they were closing soon, and I stopped at the lottery machine to buy a few tickets before I left," the man said. "A worker walked up to the machine to shut it down, so I quickly bought a few tickets, scratched the barcodes, and then scanned them at the machine to check them."
The player was shocked to discover the results of his gamble.
"When one came back with a message to file a claim, the worker told me I must have won big, so I got out my phone and scanned it using the Michigan Lottery app. As soon as I scanned it, she asked what was wrong because of the look on my face, so I told her I'd won $50,000. I looked down at my phone again and that's when I realized it actually said $500,000! I had to go sit in my car and try to calm down because I was so excited and worked up that I couldn't drive home. It was crazy," he said.
The winner said his prize money will go toward paying off bills and boosting his savings.
"Winning $500,000 is a huge relief. I'm going to pay off every single bill I have and then decide what to do with the rest later," he said.