Lottery player had ‘unreal’ winning ticket — and kept it hidden for nearly a year
A Michigan lottery player told officials he waited nearly a year to claim his $250,314 lottery win.
Why?
He held onto the ticket for tax purposes, he told Michigan lottery officials.
The 61-year-old recently cashed in his winning ticket a week before it expired.
“I was so nervous something was going to happen to the ticket, even though it was locked up in a safe spot. I’ve had the ticket for nearly a year and it still hasn’t hit me that this is real!”
The winner said he plays Club Keno every time he is at Vitale’s Sports Lounge in Comstock Park. He won while playing at the bar in April 2023, but he didn’t believe his luck.
It wasn’t until he checked his numbers online that he believed he had truly won.
Now that he’s finally claimed his prize, he plans to use the winnings to take a trip to Las Vegas and invest the remainder, he told lottery officials.
Comstock Park in Kent County is just north of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
This story was originally published March 13, 2024 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Lottery player had ‘unreal’ winning ticket — and kept it hidden for nearly a year."
