A Ypsilanti man had his life change forever recently.
Playing the scratch-off lottery game, Hit the Jackpot, the individual won the $2 million grand prize earlier this month.
The winner is choosing to remain anonymous.
Michigan Lottery winner opts for lump-sum payment
The winning ticket was purchased at In N Out, located at 1100 Share Avenue in Ypsilanti.
Predictably, the winner couldn’t quite grasp the situation upon initially winning.
The man told Michigan Lottery:
“When I scratched the ticket off, I thought I was going cross-eyed. I got pretty worked up and had to settle down and take a deep breath.”
Opting to take a lump-sum payment of around $1.3 million, the winner has spending options. He indicated it will be used for home repairs, investing, and his family.
Millions earned on Hit the Jackpot
Hit the Jackpot, a $20 instant game, has produced more than $32 million in winnings since launching in June.
Prize options for Hit the Jackpot range from $20 to $2 million. More than $41 million in prizes remain for the game. Prize options remaining include:
- Two– $2 million top prizes
- 33– $5,000 prizes
- 209– $1,000 prizes
Odds of winning in Hit the Jackpot are 1 in 3.46.
Michiganders winning big in 2020
The Ypsilanti winner marks the 29th person in Michigan to claim a prize of $1 million or more in 2020.
The top prize of 2020 is $70 million, which was won by Powerball player Cristy Davis in Pontiac back in February. Davis opted for a lump sum of $50 million.
Davis became the fifth Michigan player to win a Powerball jackpot since the game began 10 years ago. Donald Lawson won a state-record $337 million back in 2012.
Instant lottery games are available at over 10,000 retailers across the state.
In 2019, lottery players won more than $1.2 billion through instant games.
Claiming a large Michigan lottery prize wasn’t available for a big chunk of the year.
Lottery offices closed around the state in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They reopened in mid-June.
Players holding winning tickets for over $50,000 had to wait until then to claim their prizes.