Michigan Lottery Player Mistakes Jackpot for Scam, Claims It After Months

A lottery player from Michigan was lucky enough to win a second chance prize but thought the notifications about the win were scam so it took him months to claim the jackpot. The man, who preferred to remain anonymous, was notified by the Michigan Lottery about his $257,631 BIG CA$H Jackpot prize win earlier this year.

The 41-year-old was selected from a drawing that took place on February 14, 2024. To secure entries to the Second Chance jackpot draw, the man played eligible online games via the Lottery’s official website.

However, once the lucky Arenac County man was notified about the win, he thought that was a scam. “I saw an email back in February informing me that I won a $257,631 second chance prize, but I figured it was just a scam and I deleted the email,” he admitted to Lottery officials recently.

The Michigan Lottery tried to call the 41-year-old man and inform him about the win. This too didn’t work as he once again thought he was being scammed. “In addition to the email, I received several calls about the prize over the last few months, but I still thought it was a scam,” said the lucky winner.

Several Months Later, the Winner Was Pleasantly Surprised

Recently, the man remembered the email and calls notifying him of the win. This is when he decided to look into the matter and was shocked to realize that the jackpot was real and he was the winner. He explained: “Now that I’m at the Lottery office, it’s finally starting to sink in that this is real. This prize is going to be life-changing!”

The man visited the Lottery headquarters recently to claim his prize. When asked what his plans are about the $257,631 second chance jackpot prize, the man confirmed he wants to buy a new home. Moreover, he admitted to planning the purchase of a car as well.

Since the launch of BIG CA$H Second Chance in April 2022, the game has awarded close to $8.5 million in prizes. Last month, a lucky player won a progressive jackpot of $205,831 from the popular game. In August last year, the largest progressive jackpot prize from the game dropped, a whopping $729,743.

Recently, a lucky Macomb County resident missed the jackpot from Fantasy 5 by a single number. However, on the very next day, the fortunate winner claimed the coveted jackpot, taking home the mind-blowing $795,905 win.