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Store was out of his usual lottery tickets. Trying new ones won Michigan man millions

A Michigan man couldn’t buy his usual lottery tickets, so settled on something new and won big.
A Michigan man couldn’t buy his usual lottery tickets, so settled on something new and won big. Provided by Michigan Lottery.

A Michigan man couldn’t get his usual lottery tickets when he went to a gas station, but it was a blessing in disguise.

The 60-year-old man, who is choosing to remain anonymous, went to a Speedway in Midland to buy his favorite scratch-offs — but they were completely sold out, lottery officials said in a Feb. 9 release.

Still looking to play, he settled for something different.

“I usually play the Ultimate Millions or $60,000,000 Cash Blowout game,” he told lottery officials. “When I stopped at the gas station, I asked for those two tickets and they had sold out of them, so I decided to try the new Lucky X100 game.”

He got back in his car and started scratching, revealing a $2 million prize.

“I saw I’d won the $2 million prize, I was in total shock! I called my wife right away and told her I was on my way home with amazing news,” he said.

The winner collected his prize at the lottery headquarters in one lump sum of $1.3 million, instead of receiving the full $2 million over 30 payments, the release said.

“I have won smaller amounts of a couple hundred dollars in the past, but I always believed I would win a big prize one day. I can’t believe it finally happened,” he said.

He told officials he plans on sharing the wealth with family, investing it, and also buying a new car.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Store was out of his usual lottery tickets. Trying new ones won Michigan man millions."

MW
Mitchell Willetts
The State
Mitchell Willetts is a real-time news reporter covering the central U.S. for McClatchy. He is a University of Oklahoma graduate and outdoors enthusiast living in Texas.
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