It was meant to be after all
By Kate Northrop
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Michigan man won $4 million on a lottery ticket he originally did not want after finding out that the store was sold out of the game he was looking to buy.
An anonymous Michigan lottery player walked into a store wanting to buy a specific type of lottery ticket but had to settle for another kind instead. He ended up winning a $4 million prize because of it.
A Kent County man, who opted to keep his identity hidden, wasn't sure if what he was seeing was some sort of prank, but the "$4MIL" printed on his ticket under a winning symbol was no joke.
Earlier last month, he had stopped at the Citgo gas station on Plainfield Avenue Northeast in Grand Rapids to pay some of his winnings forward.
"I won $50 on an instant game and wanted to reinvest my winnings," the 54-year-old told the Michigan Lottery. "The store was sold out of the $50 instant games, so I decided on a $30 ticket instead."
He scanned the cabinet and selected a $30 ticket from the "Millionaire's Club" scratch-off game.
"When I scratched the ticket and saw I'd won $4 million, the first thing I did was call my brother," the winner recalled. "He told me to make sure it wasn't one of those prank lottery tickets, so I flipped it over and read through the fine print on the back. Once I confirmed it indeed was not a prank, I called the Lottery to have them confirm the prize as well."
His due diligence paid off, and by the end of September he was standing in Lottery headquarters in Lansing to collect the game's first $4 million top prize.
"Winning still feels unreal, but I think it's really going to sink in once I cash my check," he concluded.
With the lucky player becoming the first top prize winner in the "Millionaire's Club" game, which launched in February, there are two more top prizes of $4 million left to claim. There are also 16 out of 22 second-tier prizes of $10,000 and 203 out of 331 third-tier prizes of $2,000 remaining.
According to the Lottery, players have won over $61 million in this instant game alone, and there's still $96 million in total prizes remaining.
The odds of winning any prize in "Millionaire's Club" are 1 in 3.21.
Destiny. Right place at the right time. Congrats!
I know this feeling all too well. One time I won $16 instead of just $4 on Powerball because the clerk encouraged me to throw down the extra $1 for the Power Play.
Congrats, enjoy , just in time for the holidays.
no kidding he did wow these stories they come up with I wanted to buy a ticket they didnt have anymore still lost
Hahaha there are stories of people buying "Rescue Tickets" those that the cashier either prints by mistake but the buyer wanted something different - they buy those then they win a big prize 😳😳.
I tried three times, went into a store and rescued some tickets - lol - the rest is history - I won nada on all three occasions.
I now rescue kittens - you know someone rescued a kitten and won, lol.
Good on him, it's nice have those feel good stories and not the "I lost again, woe is me." May I have the same luck he had with that purchase with Powerball.
The human mind will always want to give meaning to everything positive that happens.
Check this out.
"I ran out of gas on my way to see a friend, I pulled into a gas station to fill my tank. While there I thought, how about I just grab a power ball ticket. I walk into the store and there is an older couple who come in behind me. Because am young and energetic, I let them go before me and purchase their snacks and drinks then I walk over to the counter and buy my tickets. The draw comes and I don't win anything, don't match even one number"
That is it, nothing much will be imagined from this scenario.
Now how about the same scenario unfolds as it has above and I win the jackpot.
Boom, suddenly everything in that narrative would be the reason why I won, lol.
The human brain likes to imagine things alot 🤣
Very true, but it is still fun to think it might be possible.
I'm reminded of an incident when my wife and I bought scratchers and one of the scratchers got torn when the clerk pulled it off the roll and she didn't want it so I took it. It won $25!
Not sure if it's significant, but it was kind of neat.
While that is true sometimes you just want to be a "Glass half full" type of person. The whole "it's rigged" or "another winner from the same state that happens to be the most populated" gets boring in it's meaning. A random good event that happens needs to be recognized. We have enough sad and demoralizing events happening in the world.
A friend, a mailman, stepped out of line to talk to a patron. The person behind him won 10k on the scratch off he was going to buy.
Now flip that script and let the mail man win after coming back in line behind your friend. Your friend would be like, if that silly mail man had only stayed in line 🤣🤣🤣
I totally agree.
They make for feel good stories.
Same with the recue tickets that people leave behind. If you buy it and it's a winner, ooh my, the joy 😁