An Illinois man struck gold, winning $25,000 a year for the rest of his life, due to a gas station clerk's mistake on his lottery ticket. Michael Sopejstal, 60, purchased a ticket in September 2023 at a GoLo gas station in New Buffalo, Michigan.
“I come to Michigan every few weeks to eat at my favorite restaurant, and I always get a Lucky for Life ticket for 10 or 20 draws while I’m here,” he shared. “I asked the retailer for a ticket for 10 draws, but he accidentally printed a ticket with 10 lines for one draw, but I told him I still wanted it.”
Little did he know, the gas clerk's mistake would lead him to win the lottery! The winning ticket was drawn on September 17, 2023.
“I checked my ticket one morning and saw that I had won $25,000 a year for life,” the man told lottery officials. “I immediately started thinking about all the things I could do with the money and whether I wanted to take the lump sum or annuity option. It was an amazing feeling!”
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Michael ended up taking his winnings as a one-time lump sum payment. He walked away with $390,000 rather than receiving $25K for 20 years or the remainder of his life, whichever would be longer.
People in the comments weighed in on the bizarre winning.
" ," one person commented with emojis.
"1980s highway to heaven tv sitcom had similar story but for saving senior home and they had to save their home taking a cable at the race track…..and the elderly man bid the wrong number but hit big and saved the home……boo yah…….," another person commented.
Michael told Michigan Lottery that he plans to use the money to travel. He also intends to put some away for savings.
The Lucky For Life lottery drawing game costs $2 per play. Prizes range from $3 to a lifetime of money.
Drawings for the lottery take place at 10:38 p.m. every day. In order for a player to win, their numbers must match all five of the winning numbers, which begin at one and go to 48.
The 60-year-old's odds for winning were more than 1 in 1.8 million. The lottery is played in about two dozen states. On Thanksgiving Day, a player in Ohio won the same Lucky For Life prize.
