An Oakland County man’s family thought he was playing a joke on them when he told them he won a $4.38 million Lotto 47 jackpot on April Fools’ Day.
The lucky 60-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the winning Lotto 47 numbers drawn April 1 to win the jackpot: 04-08-17-19-24-45. He bought his winning ticket at Lathrup Village Convenience, located at 28939 Southfield Road in Lathrup Village. Lathrup Village is about 15 miles northwest of Detroit.
“I love playing Lotto 47 and I usually play every drawing,” said the player. “I scanned my ticket at the store after the drawing and got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office. When the worker told me I must have won big, I said: ‘Yeah right!’
“I checked the winning numbers when I got in my car and couldn’t believe it when I saw I had won the jackpot. I called my family to tell them the good news and they thought I was playing an April Fools’ joke on them. It took some convincing before they finally believed that I’d won!”
The player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim the big prize. He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $3.04 million rather than annuity payments for the full amount. He plans to save his winnings.
“Winning still doesn’t feel real and I don’t think it will for a while,” said the player. “Once it sinks in, I will start making some plans for the money, but as of now I plan to save most of it.”
Each Lotto 47 play is only $1. Players select six numbers from one to 47 for a chance to win a jackpot starting at $1 million and that grows until someone wins it. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Lotto 47 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $1.5 million in the nightly Double Play drawing. For an additional $1 per game, players may add EZMatch to their ticket for a chance to win up to $500 instantly. Lotto 47 drawings take place on Wednesday and Saturday at 7:29 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at a retailer or online at MichiganLottery.com until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.
