Best commute ever? Man notches $6 million Michigan lottery win on way to work

A Michigan man told his friend he was going to buy a $50 lottery ticket on payday — and that ticket was worth so much more than his average pay check.

“I didn’t think I would actually win the top prize, but I still wanted to try it,” the 30-year-old man recently said of the state’s new $300,000,000 Diamond Riches instant game.

“We stopped at the store on the way to work so that I could buy one and I scratched it when I got in my car,” he told lottery officials.

What the commuter saw next had him and his friend “freaking out.”

The Cheboygan County man, who chose to remain anonymous, had won $6 million — the game’s largest prize, and also the largest prize ever offered on a Michigan instant win game.

“It’s really unreal to be sitting here collecting $6 million,” the lottery player told officials when claiming his prize. “I haven’t stopped shaking since I scratched the ticket off.”

He was given two choices: 30 yearly payments worth the full $6 million, or a one-time lump sum payment worth about $4.1 million, according to the July 15 news release.

He chose the one-time payment, and officials say he plans to go to Disneyland before saving the rest of his newfound cash.

“Winning is unreal and a big blessing,” he said. “I never thought I would be a millionaire.”

Lottery officials say the winning ticket was purchased at Vanderbilt Downtown EZ Mart in Vanderbilt, about 250 miles northwest of Detroit. Vanderbilt is in Otsego County, about 35 miles northeast of the winner’s home county.

This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Best commute ever? Man notches $6 million Michigan lottery win on way to work."