Lottery ticket man thought was dud turns out to be $4M winner

Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A Michigan Lottery player said the decision to scan what he thought was a non-winning ticket saved a $4 million winner from ending up in the trash.

The 43-year-old Macomb County man told Michigan Lottery officials he bought his Magnificent Millions ticket at the 9 Mile Stop & Go in Warren, but it didn't initially appear to be a winner.

"When I play instant games, I skip around when I scratch the ticket off," the player said. "I thought I had scratched everything off and didn't see any winning matches, so I tossed the ticket aside."

The player said he decided to double-check the ticket instead of throwing it out -- a decision that paid off.

"The next time I stopped at a gas station, I took the ticket inside and scanned it just to make sure I hadn't missed anything," he said.

"When I scanned it and got the message to file a claim, I knew I had missed something on the ticket. When I looked it over again, I saw a spot I forgot to scratch. When I revealed I was a $4 million winner I went numb!"

The man said he plans to save his winnings for the time being.