Michigan man wins $500K after mistaking his prize for $50K payout

• A Michigan man has won $500,000 after years of playing the lottery - and mistakenly thinking he had won $50,000 just moments earlier
• The player preferred to remain anonymous and he joins several other big winners from the Great Lakes State in recent days
• Lottery payouts like this happen very often in Michigan, with the state’s residents having a soft spot for all sorts of lottery games

A lucky lottery player in Michigan struck luck almost twice in a row when he realized that what he originally thought to be a $50,000 lottery payout, but turned out to be missing a zero at the end.

Genesee County man wins $500K - spent years playing

And so, the 51-year-old Genesee County resident ended up with a $500,000 payout on his hands. While he has preferred to withhold his identity, details surrounding the lucky event were shared by the Michigan Lottery.

For one, the man has been an avid lottery player, and he has indeed been playing it frequently, winning various amount, but usually in the range of $100, $200 and $5,000, but never that big of an amount.

"When I scratched this ticket, I thought I won $50,000 and I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited, later that day, I looked the ticket over again and my heart started pounding when I realized it was actually a $500,000 winner. It was unreal," the man explained, recounting his experience with the win.

The ticket, purchased at Northend Market at G5272 North Saginaw Street in Flint, with the shop receiving the customary bonus payment. The player is unlikely to stop playing the lottery, but whether a second big prize comes his way remains to be seen.

Michigan Lottery keeps heaping prizes on players

The player also did not share any immediate plans for how he would be spending the money. Michigan lottery players have known some serious big wins in recent days, with two individuals winning $1,000,000 separately.

A fortunate 70-year-old woman, who chose to remain anonymous, purchased her $20 King Cashword ticket at Speedy Q Markets on 2020 Water Street in Port Huron, leading to the seven-figure prize.

In another related event, a Calhoun County man scored a tier-two prize from the Michigan Lottery’s Millionaire Maker ticket, fetching $1,000,000 himself. Both chose to remain anonymous.

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