Lottery player thought he’d never ‘actually win’ in MI. Then he landed huge prize

A man landed a “life-changing” lottery win after buying a scratch-off ticket, Michigan officials said.

The St. Joseph County man walked into a gas station, and the $2,000,000 Lucky instant game caught his eye, according to a Sept. 2 news release by the Michigan Lottery.

“I typically only play $5 and $10 tickets, but $2,000,000 Lucky was one of the newer games at the store I usually go to, so I gave it a try,” the 66-year-old player told officials.

But he never thought the ticket he’d buy in Sturgis would actually be carrying a $2 million prize, officials said.

“Game five was the last part of the ticket I scratched, so when I revealed the first ‘$2MIL’ symbol I thought: ‘Well this ticket is a loser,’ because I never thought I’d actually win the $2 million top prize,” he said.

The man went to claim his prize at lottery headquarters and opted for a one-time lump sum, meaning he walked away with $1.3 million as opposed to yearly payments of the full amount, officials said.

He plans to use the money to travel and retire early, officials said.

“Although I’m still trying to wrap my head around winning $2 million, it’s nice to know my wife and I will now be able to retire earlier that we planned,” he said in the release.

Sturgis is about a 150-mile drive southwest from Detroit.

This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he’d never ‘actually win’ in MI. Then he landed huge prize."