KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. — A Kalamazoo County man is half a million dollars richer after playing a $10 scratch-off ticket.
The lucky 50-year-old, who wants to stay anonymous, bought his winning Michigan Lottery 5X Multiplier instant game at the Meijer gas station at 8994 Shaver Road in Portage.
“I play a lot of the instant games, but I have only played 5X Multiplier a few times since it came out,” said the player. “I had a $10 winning ticket, so I used my winnings to purchase two 5X Multiplier tickets. When I scratched off one of the tickets and saw I’d won $500,000, I didn’t think it was real. I scanned it on the Lottery app which confirmed my prize, but I still had a hard time believing it was real.
“When I got home, my wife thought something bad had happened because of how I was acting. When I told her I’d won $500,000, she didn’t believe me. As soon as the Lottery office verified the prize over the phone, she broke down crying. It has been such a crazy experience!”
He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. He plans to complete some home renovations and invest the rest.
Michigan Lottery says players have won more than $10 million playing 5X Multiplier.
The game launched in September.
Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $20 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes and 177 $500 prizes.
You can buy instant lottery games at any of the 10,500 retailers across the state.
Lottery players won more than $1.8 billion playing instant games in 2021, the Michigan Lottery says.
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