Lottery player thought he won $600, but realized it was much more. ‘Started screaming’
A Michigan man couldn’t contain his excitement after seeing how much he won on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
The 32-year-old man bought three Colossal Cashword instant tickets in Dearborn Heights, according to a Nov. 18 news release from the Michigan Lottery.
“I bought a Colossal Cashword ticket while I was at the gas station and won $30, so I used my winnings to buy another one,” he told lottery officials. “The second ticket was a non-winner, so I decided to try one more.”
The man bought a third ticket and scratched it right in the store. Then, he realized he won a prize.
“When I revealed the seventh word, I assumed it was a $600 winning ticket, so I scanned it and got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office,” he said, per the release.
But the ticket was worth much more than $600.
“I took the ticket out to my car and gave it to my wife to scan on her Michigan Lottery app. When $2 million came up on the scanner, I started screaming. My wife tried to calm me down so people wouldn’t hear me, but I couldn’t contain my excitement,” he told lottery officials.
The man chose to receive a one-time lump sum payment of roughly $1.3 million instead of yearly payments for the full amount.
He said he plans to buy a house, a car and help his family.
Dearborn Heights is about a 15-mile drive west of Detroit.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he won $600, but realized it was much more. ‘Started screaming’."
