'Freeing, Life-Changing, Still Setting In:' MI Man Wins $1M On Scratch-Off Ticket

KALAMAZOO, MI — A Kalamazoo County man said winning $1 million from a scratch-off ticket is "freeing, life-changing, and still setting in."

The lucky 59-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning 50X ticket at Ziggy’s, located at 5384 North Riverview Drive in Kalamazoo, according to lottery officials.

"I play what I like to call ‘scratch-off roulette’ where I buy a bunch of different scratch-off tickets and then scratch the barcodes and scan them to see if I won," the man said. "When I saw I matched number 1, I thought: ‘A $1 million prize would be nice!’ Then I scratched off the prize amount and was in shock when I saw I’d actually won $1 million! Winning is freeing, life-changing, and still setting in."

He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $694,000, rather than annuity payments for the full amount, according to lottery officials.

He plans to save his winnings so that his wife can retire early, according to lottery officials.