MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — A Macomb County man's life has changed with just one email notification.
The 52-year-old player said when he recently got a prize notification from the Michigan Lottery, he was anticipating to win $5 or $100. When he logged into his account, he couldn't believe what he was seeing: A prize totaling $4.57 million.
The player, who chose to remain anonymous, had purchased his winning Lotto 47 ticket online and matched the winning numbers back on Aug. 17: 03-08-27-34-40-43.
He said it still hasn't sunk in that he won such a big prize.
“When I saw I had won the $4.57 million jackpot, I didn’t believe it was real at first," he said. "I showed my wife the prize amount and we were both taken aback! It has taken awhile for us to wrap our heads around it.”
The man recently claimed his winnings at the Michigan Lottery headquarters. He chose to receive a lump sum payment of about $3.1 million. He said he will use his prize to donate to charities, take a vacation and save the remainder.
Lotto 47 costs $1 to play and has a progressive jackpot that starts at $1 million and grows until someone matches all six numbers.
Lotto 47 drawings take place on Wednesday and Saturday at 7:29 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at a retailer or online at MichiganLottery.com until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.
