A Michigan Man Thought He Won $50,000 from a Lottery Scratch-Off. He Actually Won $500,000.
A Michigan man who thought he had scratched his way to a $50,000 lottery prize got a much bigger surprise when he looked again. The ticket was actually worth $500,000.
The winner, a 51-year-old from Genesee County who chose to stay anonymous, hit the prize on a Triple Red 777s instant ticket, a $5 Michigan Lottery scratch game, bought at the Northend Market at G5272 North Saginaw Street in Flint. He misread the amount when he first scratched it, then rechecked the ticket later the same day.
"I play the lottery a lot and have won smaller prizes such as $100, $200, and even $5,000 a few times," the player told the Michigan Lottery. "When I scratched this ticket, I thought I won $50,000 and I couldn't believe it. I was so excited. Later that day, I looked the ticket over again and my heart started pounding when I realized it was actually a $500,000 winner. It was unreal."
What He Plans to Do With It
The player recently visited Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim the prize and said he plans to save the money, putting it into a savings account while he decides how to use it. Michigan lets winners of instant games stay anonymous, which is why his name has not been released. We cover how that works in can you stay anonymous if you win a scratch-off.
About the Ticket
Triple Red 777s is a $5 Michigan instant game with a $500,000 top prize. On ScratchCheck's data it runs overall odds of 1 in 4.12 and a 70% payout, and after this claim our Michigan top-prizes-remaining page shows just one more $500,000 top prize still on the board. The game has a ValueScore of just 30 and and could be ending soon. It is not one of Michigan's highest-value tickets, but that is the nature of scratch-offs: the big prizes are rare, and someone eventually hits them. This time it was a Flint-area regular who nearly under-counted his own win.
Why People Play
Stories like this are why people keep a few tickets in the glovebox. Someone does win the big prizes, as we found when we looked at whether anybody ever wins big on scratch cards, and once in a while they almost talk themselves out of it first. If you are holding a Triple Red 777s ticket you have not double-checked, consider this your reminder to look again.
Sources
ClickOnDetroit: A Michigan man thought he won a $50K lottery prize. He was wrong. He won $500K.
Frequently Asked Questions
What game did the Michigan man win $500,000 on?
Triple Red 777s, a $5 Michigan Lottery instant scratch game with a $500,000 top prize. He bought the ticket at Northend Market at G5272 North Saginaw Street in Flint.
How did he think he only won $50,000?
He misread the prize amount when he first scratched the ticket and believed it was a $50,000 winner. Later the same day he looked again and realized it was actually worth $500,000.
Are there any Triple Red 777s top prizes left?
According to ScratchCheck's latest data, one more $500,000 top prize remains unclaimed on the game.
Jessie Jurado covers consumer lottery topics with a focus on odds, value, and the math most players never see. She believes nobody should buy a scratch ticket without knowing what they're actually getting for their money.
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