Michigan man shocked after $50 scratch-off brings him $1m prize

• A $50 scratch-off ticket in Michigan resulted in a $1m payday
• The winner, a Calhoun County man, scored a tier-two prize from the Millionaire Maker ticket
• Besides one top prize of $6m, the ticket offers nine tier-two prizes of $1m each

A fortunate man who doesn’t frequently play the lottery was shocked after winning a million-dollar scratch-off prize.

That’s the story of a Calhoun County man, who scored a tier-two prize from the Michigan Lottery’s Millionaire Maker ticket.

The fortunate winner isn’t a frequent player

The incredibly lucky man purchased his winning ticket at Lakeview Liquor on 2497 Capital Avenue Southwest in Battle Creek.

The winner, who decided to remain anonymous, revealed in an interview with an official from the Michigan Lottery that he doesn’t regularly play lottery games.

However, the 46-year-old man added that he would by a ticket every now and then whenever he feels like it.

"I bought a Millionaire Maker ticket while I was at the store and then tucked it away to scratch later after work," the Calhoun County man admitted.

"When I saw it was a $1m winner, I freaked out! It feels like I can breathe again," the fortunate player added, recalling the moment of the win.

The 46-year-old player visited the Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim his newfound fortune.

Instead of receiving the full $1m via annuity payments, the player selected to take home a one-time lump sum of approximately $693,000.

Asked about his plans for his newfound fortune, the player admitted that he will buy a new car and save the rest.

One $6m top prize is up for grabs, along with nine tier-two prizes of $1m each

Each $50 Millionaire Maker ticket grants players a chance to win a prize between $75 and $6m.

In September 2025, when the Michigan Lottery introduced the $50 scratch-off, there were a total of two top prizes of $6m each. Now, only one top prize remains in play.

A tier-two prize, just like the one won by the Calhoun County man, awards $1m and out of 12 such prizes, nine remain in play.

A tier-three prize awards $10,000, and out of 60 at launch, 42 remain in play.

Within the lower prize tiers, more than 1 million in prizes between $1,000 and $75 are up for grabs.

The overall odds of winning any prize from the Millionaire Maker are 1 in 3.19.

So far, players across Michigan have won more than $110m in prizes from the scratch-off ticket.

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