An Isabella County man drove around with what he thought was a non-winning Money ticket for four months before realizing it was a $2 million winning ticket.

The 29-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at Shepherd E-Z Mart, located at 550 East Wright Avenue in Shepherd. Shepherd is about 10 miles southeast of Mount Pleasant.

“Every so often I will stop and buy an instant ticket after work,” the player said. “About four months ago, I bought this Money ticket, but I didn’t see any winnings on it when I scratched it, so I threw it in my center console with some other non-winning tickets.

“About a week ago, my wife gave me a few tickets to take to the store and check, so I grabbed the tickets in my center console to double check. When I scanned the Money ticket, I got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office. I went back out to my truck to look the ticket over and realized I’d matched number 13. When I revealed the ‘$2 MIL’ symbol underneath, I was speechless. It is a miracle this ticket didn’t end up in the trash!”

The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $1.3 million, rather than annuity payments for the full amount. He plans to invest his winnings.

“I don’t plan on making any big purchases with the money, but rather use it as a nice financial cushion for our family,” the player said.

Players have won more than $47 million playing Money, which launched in March. Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $2 million. More than $61 million in prizes remain, including two $2 million top prizes, 16 $10,000 prizes, and 58 $5,000 prizes.

In 2022, Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion playing instant games.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at any of the 10,500 retailers across the state.