Michigan Lottery winner said he buried $1 million ticket in a glass jar to keep it safe
A West Michigan man buried his winning Michigan Lottery instant ticket in a glass jar in his yard to keep it safe while he made arrangements to claim the prize.
The prize from Major Cashwords was $1 million.
The winner, a 45-year-old man from Van Buren County, decided to take a one-time lump sum payment of $634,000, rather than annuity payments for the full amount. He also chose to remain anonymous for the lottery announcement, according to a press release issued Monday.
He bought the winning ticket at a Speedway gas station on South Kalamazoo Street in Paw Paw.
"I play Cashwords occasionally but purchasing this ticket was a total fluke," the winner told lottery officials. "I asked the cashier for a different game, and she mistakenly handed me this Major Cashword ticket instead. When she realized she gave me the wrong ticket, she offered to give me the game I'd asked for, but I told her I would just keep the Major Cashword ticket instead."
The next morning, he scratched off the ticket barcode so his wife could scan the ticket on the Michigan Lottery app.
"When $1 million came up on the screen, I felt like I couldn't breathe! I thought it was some sort of prank at first. Once I realized it was real, I put the ticket in a jar and buried it in the yard because I was so paranoid something would happen to it if I kept it in the house!"
"Burying the ticket in a Mason jar is certainly a unique way to hang onto a winning ticket," Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli said in response.
WIth the prize money, the winner plans to pay bills including paying off his home and also save for retirement.
Major Cashword tickets cost $10, with prize amounts ranging from $10 to $1 million. There are still two $1 million prize winning tickets remaining in that instant lotter ygame.
