Lottery player thought he won $5 — or $100. Then he ‘didn’t believe’ the real prize
Over the past year, a Michigan man started testing his luck with the lottery, and he’s received emails telling him he won a prize.
Those emails said he had won small prizes — anywhere from $5 to $100 — the Macomb County man told lottery officials.
The 52-year-old recently received the prize notification email, expecting a similar prize. However, this email told him he hit the jackpot and was the winner of $4.57 million, Michigan Lottery officials said in a Sept. 19 news release.
“When I saw I had won the $4.57 million jackpot, I didn’t believe it was real at first,” he told lottery officials. “I showed my wife the prize amount and we were both taken aback!
The winner is taking home his multi-million dollar prize in a lump sum of $3.1 million, according to officials. He won after purchasing a Lotto 47 ticket online, per the release.
“It has taken awhile for us to wrap our heads around it,” the winner told lottery officials.
He plans to use the money to donate to charity, save and take his family on vacation.
Macomb County is about a 40-mile drive northeast from Detroit.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he won $5 — or $100. Then he ‘didn’t believe’ the real prize."
