Michigan man bolts from home after winning multimillion-dollar lotto jackpot

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A Michigan man left his wife and daughter in his dust after he realized he won a huge lottery jackpot.

The 43-year-old from Van Buren County, Mich., who wished to remain anonymous, could not contain his excitement when his six numbers — 13, 25, 30, 35, 38, 46 — matched the six Lotto 47 numbers that came up in the April 23 draw.

“I play Lotto 47 every once in a while and decided to buy a few tickets on a whim,” the man said while picking up his winnings from Michigan Lottery headquarters.

“When I saw the jackpot was over $5 million, I told my family: ‘That money is going to be mine!’”

He wasn’t kidding.

“I checked the winning numbers online that night after the drawing and recognized them instantly,” he said.

“I had to recheck the numbers several times after seeing I matched them all because it was so surreal.”

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After making sure he had won, he said he “ran out the door and down the street because I was so excited!

“My wife didn’t know what was going on, so my daughter said to her, ‘I think dad just won the lottery!’”

The lucky player opted to receive his winnings as annual payments of about $182,000 for the next 30 years rather than a one-time, lump-sum payment of $3.7 million.

Despite running out on them when he first realized he won, the man plans to take care of his family with the money.

The retailer, a Speedway gas station in Kalamazoo, Mich., will also receive a bonus of $5,000 for selling the winning lottery ticket, according to the lottery.

The winner admitted: “Winning a prize like this feels unreal and is still sinking in.”