Oakland County man eyes retirement after last-minute lottery ticket wins him $170,000

Oak Park man plans to remodel lake house

Russell Morgenstern with his Michigan Lottery check. (Michigan Lottery)

OAK PARK, Mich. – An Oakland County man said he bought a lottery ticket at the last minute and ended up winning over $170,000.

Russell Morgenstern, 67, of Oak Park, bought a Fantasy 5 ticket online and matched the five numbers from the June 3 drawing: 12-20-26-31-34.

“I play Fantasy 5 every day, and I have been playing online for about five or six years,” Morgenstern said. “Around 6 p.m. the night of the drawing, I remembered I hadn’t purchased my tickets yet, so I logged into my account and purchased a few tickets with easy pick numbers.

“At 8 p.m. that night, I saw an email from the lottery informing me I’d won. I got on MichiganLottery.com and looked at the results from the drawing. When I saw there was one jackpot winner for $170,129 and the ticket was purchased online, I knew I really was the winner. Winning this prize is a windfall and a huge blessing.”

Morgenstern visited Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim his prize.

He said he plans to retire and remodel his lake house.


About the Author

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

Recommended Videos