Lottery player thought he won $5,000 in Michigan — but it was much more. ‘Surreal’
A Michigan man relied on the same lottery numbers for years hoping that they would pay off.
When he matched all five numbers during the Sept. 23 drawing for the Lucky For Life game, he thought that won him a $5,000 prize. Then, the 67-year-old looked again.
“I started pacing the house and couldn’t stop!” Carl Cooper said when he learned he had won $25,000 a year for life, according to a news release from Michigan Lottery.
The winner purchased his ticket at a liquor store in Clio, according to officials, and chose to claim his prize in a lump sum of $390,000.
In an attempt to grapple with the prize, Cooper said he watched the news to try and calm himself.
“As soon as it came on, they were talking about the big Lucky For Life winning ticket that was sold in Clio and I yelled: ‘Hey, that’s me!’” he told officials. “Winning a prize like this is a surreal experience.”
Cooper plans to buy a new snowblower and then save the rest of his winnings.
Clio is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Detroit.
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he won $5,000 in Michigan — but it was much more. ‘Surreal’."
