A retailer's error is a lottery player's happy accident
By Kate Northrop
NEW BUFFALO, Mich. — A store clerk's error helped an Illinois man land a $25,000 a year for life prize in the Michigan Lottery's Lucky for Life game.
Just as famous painter Bob Ross once said, "we don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." The same could be said for one Illinois man who ended up winning a $25,000 a year for life Lucky for Life prize thanks to one such lottery retailer's happy accident.
Illinois resident Michael Sopejstal, 60, finds himself passing through Michigan to visit his favorite restaurant every few weeks and usually makes it a point to play the Michigan Lottery while he's in the state.
This time, he stopped at the GoLo gas station on West Buffalo Street in New Buffalo for his tickets.
"I come to Michigan every few weeks to eat at my favorite restaurant, and I always get a Lucky for Life ticket for 10 or 20 draws while I'm here," Sopejstal told the Lottery. "I asked the retailer for a ticket for 10 draws, but he accidentally printed a ticket with 10 lines for one draw, but I told him I still wanted it."
It didn't occur to Sopejstal that the cashier's mistake might have been a lucky one until he looked at his ticket much later following the Sept. 17 draw. He had matched all five white ball numbers drawn: 11, 15, 17, 24, and 48.
"I checked my ticket one morning and saw that I had won $25,000 a year for life," he recalled. "I immediately started thinking about all the things I could do with the money and whether I wanted to take the lump sum or annuity option. It was an amazing feeling!"
When the lucky out-of-state winner visited Lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim his prize, he opted to receive it as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000 instead of the annuity payments of $25,000 for 20 years or life, whichever is greater.
With the prize, Sopejstal plans on traveling and saving the remainder.
The odds of winning the second-tier Lucky for Life prize of $25,000 a year for life are 1 in 1,813,028.
Lucky for Life drawings take place every day at 10:38 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each. All winning numbers, odds, and prize amounts can be found on Lottery Post's Multi-State Lottery Results page.
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CONGRATULATIONS
We, of one ticket a drawing have a long ways to go 🤣🤣🤣
Congratulation to the winner.
Sticking by so far with my new ticket purchase formula: 1 ticket be it powerball or megamillions per every hundred million cash value.
So already have tonite and tomorrow covered for $6: 1 PB w/ pp and 1 MM w/ mp
Me too, had my PB for tonight - did not win a dime 🤣
Got my MM with MP for tomorrow. Onward we go - a day at a time.
I hope you play your state lottery also when it is at least over 1 million. It is just unrealistic to expect to hit those big ones ever. Many have done well just playing their states cash 5 game if you approach it with some gusto. You're shooting for the moon and you may regret winning that much in PB and Mega. The 2nd place prizes though are tempting.
Id rather buy lucky for life now that the instate lotto is 3 days a week and $2 a ticket.
I'll play my instate lotto when it hits 5 million and higher ...
Gotta stay disciplined you know what I mean?
I do but it depends on your age to play that really difficult Lucky For LIfe game. Not for older people at all. I don't believe the prize is good enough for 1-48 + 1-18 lucky ball for a 2.00 bet. 1000.00 a day for life sounds good on paper for someone under 40 maybe. The lump sum option is too low. I see you are opting out of Megabucks because of the 2.00 price unless it gets to 5 million which it rarely will now. I am all in on that one now since they reduced the matrix by 5. I foresee a 1.4m jackpot coming my way.
I would give that store clerk a huge tip!
Only if it were a quick pik. Otherwise he doesn't deserve a nickel if you filled out a card. The timing of his fingers on the button won it for you if you asked for a quick pik. If you used a card like you always should he did nothing but run it through the machine which you could have run it through any machine at any time before the drawing. He deserves squat then.
LOL! I like giving money away. In my early teens, I would give money away to strangers for nothing, so even if he didn't deserve it, I would give a big tip.
I really don't how people win this drawing but congratulations winner maybe you will be congrulations to me soon I hope ?
I know what you mean I never win anything in drawings anywhere so congrats to him right ?