DETROIT – A Lincoln Park man is choosing to stay anonymous after winning $4 million on a scratch off lottery ticket.
The man, who released statements Friday via the Michigan Lottery Office, won on a $30 World Class Millions instant game ticket.
"I scratched the numbers on the ticket first, before revealing the prizes," the man said. "When I saw I had a match, I figured that I had won my $30 back. As I scratched the prize off, I quickly realized it was more than $30. Once I saw the '4MIL' symbol, I could barely breathe and thought I was having a panic attack."
The player scratched his ticket on the counter at the store where he bought it, the River Drive Market, located at 455 Southfield in Lincoln Park.
"There were only a couple people in the store, and they kept staring at me because I was acting pretty funny," the man said. "I handed the ticket to the clerk so he could scan it on his machine, and then he started screaming. Everyone was so excited to see a big winner like that. Thankfully, the clerk quickly told me to sign the ticket."
When the player got home, his girlfriend thought something was wrong.
"I tried to explain what was going on, but I was still so nervous it took awhile to tell her the good news," the man said. "Needless to say, we are both really excited about winning $4 million."
When the player called the lottery office to schedule an appointment to collect his winnings, he realized that he had a problem.
"They told me I would need to bring my driver's license and Social Security card to claim the prize, but I didn't have the card with me," the man said. "I was recently in North Carolina and left my wallet at a buddy's place there. I called my buddy and told him I'd pay him $1,000 to drive my Social Security card up. He was standing on my doorstep the next morning with the card."
The player chose to take his prize as a one-time lump-sum payment of $2.5 million rather than an annuity, according to the lottery office.
With his winnings, he plans to buy a new home and new car, donate to charity, set up college funds for a few family members, and invest the remainder.