Man in His 80s Wins $2 Million Lottery Prize While Shopping

Since the launch of Michigan Lottery’s Diamonds & Gold instant game, more than $19 million has been won by players. The game’s prizes start at $20 and go all the way up to a staggering $2 million. The latest winner who secured a top prize from the popular game is Hugh Leach, a Mason resident who bought his winning ticket earlier this month.

The Lottery confirmed that the lucky winner purchased the ticket which won $2 million from the Meijer store, located at 550 Hull Road in Mason, Ingham County, Michigan. The winner shared his excitement upon collecting his winnings, revealing that he visited the store to shop for some groceries.

Leach said that he purchases a $20 ticket a fortnight and revealed that after he was done shopping, he stopped by the store’s Lottery machine and bought his ticket. The 82-year-old man realized that he won $2 million after scratching the lottery ticket when he was back home.

Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli spoke about the case of the latest lottery winner, revealing that a usual shopping for groceries made the man $2 million richer. “I’d like to congratulate Hugh Leach on his big win and thank him, and all of our loyal players, for helping the Lottery contribute more than $28 billion to Michigan schools since 1972,” she explained.

“Going to the grocery store to fill your pantry and finding out you also filled your bank account must be an incredible feeling!“

Suzanna Shkreli, Lottery Commissioner

The Winner Recalls the Excitement of Winning $2 Million

While the $2 million represents an annuity payment option, Leach opted to receive a lump sum payment. As a result, the lucky winner collected approximately $1.3 million from the Lottery’s Diamonds & Gold instant game.

The lucky man recalled the moment he realized he matched “02” for the $2 million top prize from the scratch game. He explained: “I thought: ‘Wait a minute. This can’t be right.’ I looked the ticket over a few more times and then said to my wife: ‘I think I just won $2 million!’ I called the Lottery the next day to confirm it was real and schedule an appointment to claim my prize.”

Leach said that while he has heard of other people winning million-dollar prizes, he never thought this could happen to him as well. With excitement, the lucky winner said that the win was “a complete shock.”

While nearly $20 million was won from Diamonds & Gold, some $84 million in prizes remain unclaimed. There are two more $2 million top prizes, as well as 32 prizes of $5,000 each and 183 prizes of $2,000 each and many more lower-tier prizes.