Michigan man wins record breaking $963,040 jackpot

A man who has played the Michigan Lottery’s Fantasy 5 drawing every day for years scored a $963,040 jackpot — the largest since the game launched in 2004.

The 56-year-old Macomb County man told Michigan Lottery officials he bought his ticket for the June 26 drawing at Smoker’s Express on Seaton Drive in New Baltimore.

“I play Fantasy 5 every single day,” the player said. “The day after the drawing, I was at work and heard a big Fantasy 5 jackpot was won, so I got on MichiganLottery.com to see where it was sold. When I saw the winning ticket was purchased at the store where I usually play, I called my wife and said: ‘My store sold a big winner!’ She asked if it was me, but I didn’t have my ticket on me to check.”

It wasn’t until later in the evening that he found out his ticket, bearing the numbers 04-05-08-22-38, was the record-breaking $963,040 winner.

“That night, my wife and I looked the ticket over together, and that’s when I found out I was the big winner! I didn’t know how to feel at first because I didn’t believe it was real. Now that it’s finally sunk in, it feels great,” he said.

The big winner said he plans to purchase a new vehicle, a new home and a cottage.