Wayne County Man Claims Record $1.84 Million Fast Cash Jackpot

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — The winner of a record $1.84 million Fast Cash jackpot credits “a little something” for reminding him to stop doing yardwork and go buy the winning ticket.

Rodney Stokoszynski (pronounced STOKE-UH-ZIN-SKI), described himself as a regular Lottery player and said he’d already played Fast Cash twice that day and won, so he decided that he wanted to play one more time.

“I was home doing yardwork and about 4 p.m., a little something reminded me that I wanted to play Fast Cash again. I didn’t even wash my hands or anything, just went to the store and asked for three Fast Cash tickets. I couldn’t believe it when I realized that I’d won the jackpot,” he said.

“I was yelling and waving my arms in the air and jumping around the store. I was so excited that I knocked over some of the displays, but they didn’t mind, they were just so happy for me.”

Stokoszynski bought the big winner – a $10 Doubler Wild Time Progressive Fast Cash ticket – at Rock on Smokers, located at 269002 Telegraph Road in Flat Rock. He hit the jackpot on Nov. 3, 2019. The 59-year-old Flat Rock man said he didn’t claim the prize until Friday because he was working seven days a week at a major automaker through the end of the year, then retired.

“I told all my friends and family that I won right away. Then once I got my retirement all sorted out, I knew is was time to go to the bank, get the ticket out of my safety deposit box and head to Lansing,” he said. “I still can’t believe I won more than $1.8 million. It’s amazing.

“Since I won, I’ve thought a lot about that day. I wonder what would have happened even if I’d just stopped to wash my hands. Or if I finished up my yardwork and went to buy my tickets later. Or if that little something hadn’t reminded me that I wanted to play Fast Cash one more time that day. Would I still have hit the jackpot? I’ll never know. I’m just glad that it worked out the way it did. I guess I was just meant to have all this money.

“I already had a good life and was headed toward a good retirement. Now, with this money, I’ll still have a good life, I’ll just be more comfortable,” Stokoszynski said, adding that he plans to do a bit of traveling and spend more time with family, especially his father.

Stokoszynski said he was helping two nieces get through college and with his big prize, it was now guaranteed that both would graduate with no debt. And he said that buying some hunting land in northern Michigan also was a strong possibility.

Stokoszynski added that he’s still playing the Lottery. In fact, he claimed a $2,000 Fast Cash prize that he’d recently won on the same day that he collected his jackpot winnings.

“I’ve always done well playing Lottery games," he said. "What I always tell people is that if you want to win, you have to play.”

Fast Cash games are a series of instant-win games that print from terminals at Lottery retailers. Fast Cash tickets range in price from $2 per play up to $20 per play.