Michigan Lottery’s Millionaires Club Already Nears 20 People In 2021

A second $1 million winner has been reported by the  this week, as a Kent County man won big with Michigan Lottery scratch-off games.

The 29-year-old West Michigan man, who chose to remain anonymous, said buying the $20 instant ticket was a biweekly payday tradition.

The purchase of the Millionaire Wild Time instant ticket resulted in the second $1 million score for the game, which launched in September. There is one more jackpot winner out there somewhere, according to the Lottery.

Winning ticket purchased at Wyoming liquor store

The man purchased the ticket at Ramblewood Liquor in Wyoming, a Grand Rapids suburb, on the way home from work.

“I scratched the ticket when I got home, and I couldn’t believe my eyes,” the man said, according to a news release from the Lottery. “Me and my wife kept looking the ticket over and over until it finally started to sink in.”

The man joins Boris Cvetkovski of Dearborn Heights as $1 million winners that were publicized this week. The 78-year-old man won his bounty from a $2 Powerball ticket he purchased in Inkster.

How often do Michigan Lottery winners make $1 million?

Technically, the West Michigan man is not taking home $1 million, as he chose to take a lump sum payment of $634,517 after visiting Lottery headquarters in Lansing.

Not including the man though, 19 players have won $1 million prizes in 2021.

Of those, seven have been from Michigan Lottery scratch-off games. Of the 80 Michigan Lottery instant games, 20 offer prizes of $1 million or more.

The 19 $1 million winners this year also includes 11 scores from multi-state drawings Lucky For Life, Powerball and Mega Millions, including the group that won $1 billion on Mega Millions from a Novi Kroger in January. Four of those 11 drawing tickets were purchased online.

In 2020, Lottery players won more than $1.5 billion playing instant games. During that calendar year, 35 players won $1 million prizes with instant tickets.

Another record-setting year for Michigan Lottery

The Michigan Lottery released its annual report last month. In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2020, the Lottery contributed $1.18 billion to the state’s school aid fund, a record-setting total for a sixth straight year.

The year included $4.2 billion in sales and $2.5 billion in prizes, records across the board.

Man plans to share, invest winnings — after a trip

The Kent County man from the Millionaire Wild Time ticket said he plans to take a trip with his winnings, share with family, and then invest the rest.

“Winning means I can give my family a good life, and that means everything to me,” the player said.

With major lottery prizes, a prudent plan is to hire an accountant, attorney and financial advisor. That way, the money can grow over time instead of depleting. These professionals can also advise on how best to limit tax liabilities around the money.