A Wayne County man made a last-minute lottery ticket purchase just before the grocery store closed and won $500,000 playing the new Emerald 7s instant game, the Michigan Lottery said this week.
“I was on my way out of the store because they were closing soon, and I stopped at the lottery machine to buy a few tickets before I left,” 58-year-old man, who chose to remain anonymous, said. “A worker walked up to the machine to shut it down, so I quickly bought a few tickets, scratched the barcodes, and then scanned them at the machine to check them.
“When one came back with a message to file a claim, the worker told me I must have won big, so I got out my phone and scanned it using the Michigan Lottery app. As soon as I scanned it, she asked what was wrong because of the look on my face, so I told her I’d won $50,000.
“I looked down at my phone again and that’s when I realized it actually said $500,000. I had to go sit in my car and try to calm down because I was so excited and worked up that I couldn’t drive home. It was crazy!” he said.
The man bought the ticket at Kroger, 39950 W. 14 Mile Road in Commerce Township.
He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay bills and then save the remainder.
“Winning $500,000 is a huge relief. I’m going to pay off every single bill I have and then decide what to do with the rest later,” the man said.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Last-minute lottery purchase pays off for Wayne County man
Reporting by Dan Basso, USA TODAY NETWORK / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dan Basso, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
