Unexpected turkey run turns into $4 million lottery jackpot for Michigan woman

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A Michigan woman said losing a debate about who would go to the store to buy a Thanksgiving turkey led to her winning a $4 million jackpot from a scratch-off lottery ticket.

The 49-year-old Oakland County woman told Michigan Lottery officials she had not originally intended to visit the Kroger store on North Coolidge Highway in Troy on the day before Thanksgiving.

"It was the day before Thanksgiving, and my husband asked if I could run to the store and buy a turkey since he didn't have time to," the player said. "After going back and forth about who was going to go to the store since we were both busy, I agreed to. I purchased the turkey and then stopped and bought a VIP Millions ticket on my way out."

The woman took the ticket home with her before scratching the numbers.

"When I got home and scratched the ticket, I saw I'd matched one of my numbers, but I didn't scratch the winning amount. I logged in to the Lottery app and scanned the ticket on the app scanner. When confetti came up on the screen showing I'd won $4 million, I started shaking and felt like I couldn't breathe. My family thought I was having a heart attack," she said.

The winner said having to go to the store turned out to be unexpectedly lucky.

"I'm so glad that I ended up going to the store, because if my husband would have gone, we wouldn't be here claiming a $4 million prize," she said.