Donald Ertman, 71, said he thought the owner of the Bad Axe Party Store & BP Gas Station was joking with him when he revealed the real worth of the ticket, the Bay City (Mich.) Times reported Wednesday.

''I didn't believe (store owner Eli Kabban ) until he went and got the newspaper and showed me the winning numbers,'' Donald Ertman said. ''Until then, I didn't think nothing of it."

''I was just worried about my $150.," he said.

Ertman's wife of 51 years, Rosalie, broke into tears when she was told the quarter-million-dollar worth of the ''Mega Millions'' Game ticket.

''We're the typical poor senior citizens, and our income from Social Security is not a lot,'' she said.

The couple said they have invested the $176,000 they received after taxes.