Oakland County man wins $4.38 million from Michigan Lottery on April Fools' Day
(CBS DETROIT) - An Oakland County man's family thought it was a joke when he told them he won the $4.38 million Lotto 47 jackpot on April Fools' Day.
The 60-year-old player, who decided to remain anonymous, matched the winning Lotto 47 numbers drawn on April 1: 04-08-17-19-24-45.
Michigan Lottery officials say the man purchased his winning ticket at Lathrup Village Convenience, located at 28939 Southfield Road in Lathrup Village.
"I love playing Lotto 47, and I usually play every drawing," said the lucky player. "I scanned my ticket at the store after the drawing and got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office. When the worker told me I must have won big, I said: 'Yeah right!'
"I checked the winning numbers when I got in my car and couldn't believe it when I saw I had won the jackpot. I called my family to tell them the good news and they thought I was playing an April Fools' joke on them. It took some convincing before they finally believed that I'd won!"
The player recently claimed his prize as a one-time payment of about $3.04 million. He plans to save his winnings.
"Winning still doesn't feel real and I don't think it will for a while," said the player. "Once it sinks in, I will start making some plans for the money, but as of now I plan to save most of it."
To play the Lotto 47, people select six numbers from one to 47 for a chance to win the jackpot. The jackpot starts at $1 million and then keeps growing until someone wins it.