Michael Vander Lugt finds $1 million Powerball ticket after two months
A Wyoming, Michigan, man carried a $1 million Powerball ticket in his wallet for nearly two months before a store scan revealed it.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
Michael Vander Lugt’s Powerball ticket spent nearly two months riding around in his wallet before he learned it was worth $1 million, according to the Michigan Lottery.
Vander Lugt, 54, of Wyoming, Michigan, had bought the ticket for the Aug. 8 drawing and put it away with other lottery tickets. The Michigan Lottery announced his win on Oct. 28 after he had claimed the prize.
How did Michael Vander Lugt discover his $1 million Powerball ticket?
Vander Lugt told lottery officials that he stopped at a party store to buy a drink but came up short on cash. Instead of using his card, he handed over several tickets from his wallet that he believed had small prizes attached.
A cashier scanned them and said one returned a message telling him to file a claim at a lottery office, Vander Lugt said. Once back in his car, he checked the winning numbers from that drawing and recognized the result.
“I can’t believe I had this ticket in my wallet for nearly two months not knowing it was worth $1 million,” Vander Lugt said in the Michigan Lottery announcement.
Where was the winning ticket bought?
The ticket was sold at Big Top Market, 3630 Clyde Park Avenue Southwest in Wyoming, according to the Michigan Lottery. It matched the five white balls drawn on Aug. 8: 05, 09, 35, 54 and 63.
That match earned the $1 million prize, the lottery said. Vander Lugt later went to lottery headquarters to collect it.
His plans for the money are close to home: paying off his mortgage and investing, according to the Michigan Lottery. UPI separately reported the delayed discovery on Oct. 30, citing Vander Lugt’s account to lottery officials.
This story draws on original reporting from UPI.