Nearly a year after the drawing, a Dearborn Heights man has come forward to claim the final $40,000 prize from the Michigan Lottery’s $40,000 Tax Free Raffle.

The player, who chose to remain anonymous, had raffle number 0334098 on a ticket he bought at the Kroger, located at 26400 Ford Road in Dearborn Heights.

A regular Lottery player, the man only recently learned of his big win.

“Whenever I buy tickets, I put them in my pockets and may not check them for a while,” said the player. “This ticket got shuffled around and I just found it in a stack of tickets on my dresser.”

Luckily for the player, he found his winning ticket before it expired. The $40,000 Tax Free Raffle drawing took place on April 15, 2014, and his ticket was due to expire in less than a month, on April 15, 2015.

After recently finding the stack of tickets, the man immediately began checking them and got the surprise of a lifetime.

“When I checked this ticket online, I was stunned,” said the player. “I checked my number at least five times before calling the Lottery.”

The lucky winner plans to invest his winnings.

Winning numbers for the Michigan Lottery’s $40,000 Tax Free Raffle were drawn on April 15, 2014. The drawing produced more than 68,000 winners, including: 13 $40,000 winners, 697 $100 winners, 25,256 $50 winners, and 42,353 $15 winners.