70-year-old forgets about his Michigan lottery ticket — twice. It was a big winner

A forgotten Michigan lottery ticket has finally been turned in nine months after somebody won big.

That lucky person was Floyd Warstler, who had matched the five white balls during the Aug. 13 Lucky For Life drawing, according to a May 10 news release from the Michigan Lottery.

But Warstler, 70, had no idea he was the winner of $25,000 a year for life.

“About a month after the drawing, I realized I’d never checked this ticket, so I scanned it while I was at the store,” he told lottery officials. “I got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office, so I thought maybe I’d won a $5,000 prize.”

But then the Sterling Heights man forgot about his ticket a second time.

“I got in my car and set the ticket aside to check when I got home and ended up forgetting about it,” he said when claiming his prize. “A week later, my girlfriend found the ticket in my car and asked if I’d checked it. After I told her about the message that came up when I scanned it at the store, she checked the winning numbers online.”

That’s when Warstler finally learned how much he actually won.

“When we found out I’d won $25,000 a year for life, we couldn’t believe it,” he said.

Warstler said he and his girlfriend headed south for the winter shortly after realizing his big win, according to the release.

“So I am very relieved to finally be at the Lottery collecting my prize,” the man said.

When claiming his prize, he was given two options: $25,000 a year for 20 years or life (whichever is greater), or a one-time payment of $390,000, officials said. Warstler chose the lump sum payment, which he plans to invest.

The winning ticket was sold at a Sunoco gas station in Shelby Township, part of the Detroit metropolitan area.

This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 12:18 PM with the headline "70-year-old forgets about his Michigan lottery ticket — twice. It was a big winner."