(WXYZ) — A Wayne County man has won a top prize of $4,000,0000 in an instant game after deciding to buy a ticket after he checked and saw none of the top prizes had been claimed yet.
“I like playing the $30 games and saw on the prizes remaining page on MichiganLottery.com that $4,000,000 Winner still had all three top prizes remaining, so I went to the store to buy a ticket,” said the 50-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, in a press release. “The store had three $4,000,000 Winner tickets left, so I bought all three, scratched the barcodes, and scanned the tickets.
“One of the tickets came back with a message to file a claim, so I knew I had to have won one of the big prizes, but I was too nervous to scratch the ticket," he continued. "The next day, once I calmed down a bit, I scanned the ticket on the Michigan Lottery app and started screaming when $4 million came up on the screen! It was unreal.”
“Checking the instant games prizes remaining page on MichiganLottery.com led this lucky player to trying a new game and scoring an incredible $4 million win!” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli in the news release. “Congratulations to Michigan’s newest millionaire on his life-changing prize!”
The winning ticket was purchased at Superior Market at 5700 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor.
The man claimed the prize at lottery headquarters, taking the one-time lump sum payment of about $2.7 million. He told lottery officials he plans to pay off his home, take a trip, and then save the remainder.
According to the lottery, players have won more than $72 million playing $4,000,000 Winner, which launched in December 2023. Each $30 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $30 up to $4 million. More than $92 million in prizes remain, including two $4 million top prizes, 24 $15,000 prizes, and 132 $5,000 prizes.
