Let this story be a reminder that when you're playing the lottery to ALWAYS double check your ticket before tossing it thinking it's a loser, because that's exactly what almost happened to this Grand Rapids guy who would've never known that he won half-a-million-dollars.

The Michigan Lottery says the 74-year-old anonymous man won $500,000 playing Jumbo Cash, a $5 scratch off. He told lotto officials that he bought a few tickets at the Meijer gas station in Walker.

I scratched the ticket off and thought it was a loser. I looked it over one more time before throwing it away and realized I’d matched the seven. When I revealed the amount, I thought: ‘This can’t be. This kind of luck never happens to me.’

Even though he's already claimed his prize, he says the fact that he won still hasn't hit him.        When it does, he plans on paying off debt with his winnings and buy a new house.

The $500,000 Jumbo Cash is a brand new instant game which just launched last month and the lotto has already paid out over $4 million to players, ranging from $5 to the $500K jackpot. There are still two $500,000 prizes left to be won.

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Just recently, another Kent County resident won big bucks playing the Fantasy 5. She has been playing the same exact number for years and it finally paid off (literally) when she won over $866,000! With her money she's going to fix up her home, pay bills, and take a vacation.

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