02-05-2025
Kalamazoo County man plays "scratch-off roulette," wins $1 million jackpot
A Kalamazoo County man played "scratch-off roulette" and won a $1 million jackpot playing the Michigan Lottery's 50X instant game.
The 59-year-old man, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at Ziggy's, located at 5384 North Riverview Drive in Kalamazoo.
"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," said the lucky player. "When I scanned this 50X ticket, I got a message to contact the Lottery, so I scratched off the play area.
"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."
The man elected to receive his winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of about $694,000. He plans to save his winnings so that his wife can retire early.
"This lucky player cashed in on our 50X instant game, which is part of the Multiplier family of instant games. Instant game families are popular among our players and help drive sales and increase our contribution to the School Aid Fund," said Michigan Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli in a news release. "Congratulations to the player on his big win and to his wife on an early retirement!"
Since the 50X instant game launched in February, players have won more than $16 million, according to the Michigan Lottery. Each $10 ticket gives players the chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. More than $45 million in prizes remain up for grabs, including a pair of $1 million top prizes.
