An Ingham County man returned home from his grocery shopping trip a millionaire after winning $2 million playing the Michigan Lottery’s Diamonds & Gold instant game.
Hugh Leach, of Mason, bought his winning ticket at the Meijer store, located at 550 Hull Road in Mason.
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“I buy a $20 ticket every two weeks,” said Leach. “When I finished up grocery shopping, I stopped at the Lottery machine and purchased a ticket on my way out. When I got home and finished unloading the groceries, I scratched the ticket.
“When I saw I matched ‘02’ for a $2 million prize, I thought: ‘Wait a minute. This can’t be right.’ I looked the ticket over a few more times and then said to my wife: ‘I think I just won $2 million!’ I called the Lottery the next day to confirm it was real and schedule an appointment to claim my prize.”
“Going to the grocery store to fill your pantry and finding out you also filled your bank account must be an incredible feeling!” said Lottery Commissioner, Suzanna Shkreli. “I’d like to congratulate Hugh Leach on his big win and thank him, and all of our loyal players, for helping the Lottery contribute more than $28 billion to Michigan schools since 1972!”
Leach, 82, 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. With his winnings, he plans to purchase a new car and a new lawn mower, complete some home repairs, and invest.
“You see these types of things happen to other people, but you never think it will be you, so winning was a complete shock,” said Leach.