Young man’s $10 ticket in Michigan bring life-changing $1m prize

A young man saw a $10 scratch-off ticket bring him a life-changing prize. That’s the story of a 27-year-old man from Saginaw County, who scored the top prize from the Michigan Lottery’s Epic Wild Time instant game.

The fortunate player, who chose to remain anonymous, purchased his ticket at the Express Stop, located at 7015 Gratiot Road in Saginaw. In an interview with the Michigan Lottery, the young man said that he stopped at the gas station and decided to try his luck with the $10 ticket. After purchasing the ticket, the man returned to his car to scratch it off and this is when he realized that he won big. It was an amazing feeling when I saw I won $1 million, the lucky man said. Moreover, the 27-year-old player pointed out: This prize will allow me to build a better future for myself. The winner recently visited the Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim his big win. As is the case with any large prize, the player was given the option to collect the full sum via annuity payments or take home a one-time lump sum. Similar to other lottery players, the man chose the latter option and saw his bank account increase by $693,000. Asked about his plans for the unexpected windfall, the winner explained that he will buy a new car and share the prize with his family.

The Michigan Lottery rolled out the Epic Wild Time scratch-off ticket in September 2025. Each $10 ticket grants players a chance to win a prize between $10 and $1m. The top prize, won by the Saginaw County man marked the first $1m win from the popular scratch-off ticket. After his win, there are two more top prizes of $1m each remaining in play. A tier-two prize from the $10 ticket awards $10,000 and out of 125 such prizes at start, now, 77 are up for grabs. On the other hand, a tier-three prize from Epic Wild Times awards $1,000 and there are 133 such prizes in play. Within the lower prize tiers, thousands of prizes between $500 and $10 are yet to be claimed. The overall odds of winning any prize from the Epic Wild Times ticket are 1 in 3.48.