Michigan: Second Chance Jackpot Winner Mistook Win for Scam

Every lottery win brings excitement, but nothing can quite compare to jackpot wins. Yet, sometimes when a player doesn’t win on the first try, they are given a second chance. For the lucky few, a second chance is all that’s needed to win a big prize, and this is precisely the case of a Fowlerville, Michigan man who won a whopping $250,000 second chance jackpot.

The winner, Christopher Cassel, from Fowlerville, Livingston County, earned entries into a giveaway by playing BIG CA$H Second Chance Jackpot games online with the Michigan Lottery. On Wednesday, the Lottery confirmed that the lucky man was selected randomly for a drawing that was held earlier this month. Thanks to this drawing and the second chance, Cassel hit the $250,299 BIG CA$H second chance jackpot.

Currently, a number of online instant games are eligible for a second chance progressive jackpot drawing. Whenever players online participate in such games, they have a chance to join a monthly drawing. The Michigan Lottery explained that every $0.50 wagered via eligible games grants each player one entry per drawing. Once the entry period ends, a drawing takes place and a random winner is selected out of the accumulated entries throughout the month.

The $250,299 second chance jackpot marked the second-biggest progressive jackpot prize since the start of the year. When asked what the winner would do with the money, Cassel said that he plans to buy a new truck, as well as a home.

The popular game, BIG CA$H Second Chance, initially launched last year in April. Since then, the game has awarded more than $7.5 million in progressive prizes. So far, the biggest progressive jackpot prize was the one won in August last year. At the time, a lucky player won a staggering $729,743.

The Winner Thought He Received a Scam Email

The latest winner of the BIG CA$H Second Chance game revealed that it was incredibly exciting to win the jackpot prize. The 34-year-old revealed that while the win was exciting, he is yet to realize what happened. “Winning is very exciting, although I don’t think the reality of it hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” said Cassel.

“I came across an email from the Michigan Lottery informing me I’d won a $250,299 second chance jackpot, and I immediately thought it was a scam. After calling the Lottery I found out it was real, but I still had a hard time believing it,”

Christopher Cassel, winner of the BIG CA$H Second Chance game jackpot

The lottery player explained that he was aware that participating in online games may grant him second chance entries. However, once he received an email from the Michigan Lottery, informing him of the $250,299 win, Cassel initially thought that this was a scam. After seeing the email, the winner called the Lottery to make sure he wasn’t being scammed and was pleasantly surprised to understand that he was in fact the winner.