The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at the Meijer, located at 6200 South Pennsylvania in Lansing.
“I’d won a little playing Lotto 47, so I used my winnings to buy a couple of instant tickets out of the vending machine at Meijer,” said the 65-year-old player. “I scratched the ticket when I got out to my truck and I really did think it was a joke until I scanned it in the Lottery app and that verified it was a big winner.
“I called my wife, and she thought I was full of it. She wouldn’t believe me until I sent her a picture of the ticket!”
The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $634,000, rather than annuity payments for the full amount. With his winnings, he plans to give his retirement account a boost.
“Winning is overwhelming. It gives me and my wife the ability to relax and it guarantees we will have a comfortable retirement,” the player said.
Players have won more than $9 million playing Millionaire Maker which launched this month. Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $40 up to $1 million. More than $88 million in prizes remain, including 10 $1 million top prizes and 58 $5,000 prizes.
Lottery instant games may be purchased at 10,500 retailers across the state.
In 2018, Lottery players won more than $1 billion playing instant games.