$1 million Winning Lottery Ticket Buried in Backyard

A lucky player from Michigan, USA won a $1 million prize thanks to a mistake made by a cashier but how could he keep it safe?

His winning ticket was purchased from a Speedway gas station in Paw Paw. Usually, he tries his luck on the ‘Cashword’ game but the cashier mistakenly gave him a ‘Major Cashword’ ticket instead.

He was offered the chance to return it for the game he wanted to play but decided to stick with the one he had. What a decision that proved to be.

“I couldn’t breathe”

It wasn’t until the following day that the lottery ticket was checked and a $1 million win was discovered.  “When $1 million came up on the screen, I felt like I couldn’t breathe,” recalled the 45-year-old.

At first he thought it might be a prank but then he realised it really was true. When a big win comes along there’s the fear of losing the winning ticket. Well, not if you buy your tickets from Lottery24 of course.  A Scottish couple lost their £1,760 winning lottery ticket  after it was thrown into a bin.

There are several ways to keep a lottery ticket safe.  However, this lottery winner decided on a rather novel way of hiding his ticket. He placed it in a Mason jar and then buried it in his backyard. “I was so paranoid something would happen to it if I kept it in the house,” he explained.

When the time came to claim his prize, he got his spade out again and dug up his winning ticket. The relieved player has chosen to accept his lottery winnings as a one-off payment of approximately $634,000.

He plans on using his lottery winnings to pay off his home and other bills and save the rest for his retirement.

Buried treasure

Lottery Commissioner Suzanne Shkreli commented that this was something she had never previously come across: “It is certainly a unique way to hang on to a winning ticket. Congratulations to the lucky winner on his $1 million buried treasure!"

Buy tickets now from Lottery24.