Michigan woman uses $5 free play coupon on lottery ticket, wins $300K

Jan. 30 (UPI) -- It takes money to make money as the old saying goes. But for a Michigan woman, it didn't take much. The unidentified lottery winner spent just $5 for a Pick-Six ticket and was surprised when she saw she was holding a winning ticket worth $300,000.

"I purchased the ticket on New Year's Eve using a $5 free play coupon I won playing the second chance games," the woman told Michigan Lottery officials. "I scratched the ticket when I got in my car, and when I saw I'd won $300,000, I couldn't believe it! I looked the ticket over multiple times and scanned it on the Lottery app to confirm the amount. When the $300,000 came up on the screen with confetti, I called my family and friends to tell them the good news!"

But the anonymous 41-year-old didn't rush to claim her prize right away. She just recently turned the ticket in. She said she plans to pay bills, take a vacation and save her winnings, presumably in that order.

The winning Cashword Times 5 ticket was purchased at the Beverage Expression West Road in Trenton.

Earlier this month, a Michigan man also got lucky -- twice. He purchased two identical tickets for the Michigan Lottery because he couldn't remember whether or not he'd already purchased one.

Turns out, his memory lapse was a good thing, as both tickets were winners.

"I have been playing Fantasy 5 for a long time and I always play the same sets of numbers," the anonymous man told Michigan Lottery. "I was at the gas station, and I couldn't remember if I'd purchased a ticket for the Fantasy 5 drawing that night, so I decided to purchase one to be safe."

While he says he knew he was in the money when both locations he'd purchased tickets at came up as winning stores, he had another surprise coming. He initially believed the tickets were paying out $55,000 apiece, only to learn each ticket is worth $110,000. The man plans to spend that money on home renovations and his family.

"I checked my tickets and confirmed I had won, but I thought I'd won $55,000 on each," he said. "When I called the lottery and they confirmed both tickets were $110,000 winners, a feeling of relief came over me."

The man purchased his tickets at the Sheridan EZ Mart on South Main Street in Sheridan and the Mobil gas station on W. Main St. in Stanton.