Van Buren County Man Grabs $5.46M Lotto 47 Win

What started as a simple, last-minute lottery purchase became a life-changing windfall for a particularly lucky man from Van Buren County, who recently claimed a $5.46 million Lotto 47 jackpot. 

The 43-year-old, who chose to keep his identity private, bought the ticket at a Speedway gas station on South Westnedge Avenue in Kalamazoo for the April 23 drawing. 

“Winning a Prize Like This Feels Unreal”

“I play Lotto 47 every once in a while, and decided to buy a few tickets on a whim,” he said. “When I saw the jackpot was over $5 million, I told my family: ‘That money is going to be mine!’”

It turns out, he was right. After checking the numbers (13, 25, 30, 35, 38, 46) online later that night, disbelief quickly turned to excitement.

“I checked the winning numbers online that night after the drawing and recognized them instantly. I had to recheck the numbers several times after seeing that I matched them all because it was so surreal. Once I was sure I’d won the jackpot, I ran out the door and down the street because I was so excited!”, the man explained.

His family was caught off guard by his reaction until his daughter pieced it together.

“My wife didn’t know what was going on, so my daughter said to her: ‘I think dad just won the Lottery!’ Winning a prize like this feels unreal and is still sinking in.”

Instead of opting for the $3.7 million lump sum, the winner chose to receive his prize in 30 annual payments of roughly $182,000. His plans are simple; he wants to make sure his family is taken care of.

“Congratulations to the Lucky Player”

Michigan Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli celebrated the win. “Congratulations to the lucky player on his $5.46 million Lotto 47 jackpot win! It is great to hear that this prize is going to have a positive impact on the winner and his family.” 

Shkreli also recognized the Speedway store with a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Lotto 47 costs just $1 and can be purchased at retailers or online from the lottery’s official website until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.

The lottery gives participants two chances to win growing jackpots each week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:29 PM. 

Players can enhance their chances with add-ons like Double Play or EZMatch, making every ticket a potential game-changer.

In April, in a similar turn of events, a 45-year-old man from the same county cashed in on a $1 million prize on a Major Cashword ticket he purchased from a Speedway Gas Station located on South Kalamazoo Street in Paw Paw.

At the end of the same month, a Macomb County resident who had spent four decades playing the lottery struck a life-changing $6,000,000 win on a Wealth instant game.