Michigan Lottery allows prizes of up to $999 to be claimed in person at retailers

Comment #24

Bleudog101 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:38:20 GMT

Probably over 20 years ago, but my friend knew of someone who bought a slew of KY pick 3 tickets in the good old WINNING days of Mechanical Ball Drawings and won. He'd cash in daily and paid his car off that way.

Back to the 16 Super cashing places here KY lottery had on the bottom to call the place to see if they can accommodate payments...makes me wonder...why not a check....who knows

Comment #23

grwurston — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:14:09 GMT

One more reason why I don't buy lottery tickets at stores that only have kiosks.

If I'm a regular customer and you can't cash a lottery ticket then it's

I'll spend my $$$ some where else.

Comment #22

DELotteryPlyr — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:15:16 GMT

YUP! One big convenient store on MD eastershore would say

'we dont have enough in our lottery 'drawer' to pay ANYTHING out'

So they had a kiosk that everyone had to use but also a normal terminal up by the regular check out area. The 'drawer' they mention has to do with THAT terminal and they would NOT let you play the lottery there. They would tell you to use Kiosk. So they never paid out ANYTHING since that terminal was not used and had no money.

I tried to argue with both store... [ More ]

Comment #21

Stack47 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 03:09:06 GMT

All gambling winnings are considered as income though many winners only report W-2G winnings on their tax forms. Some casino table games are affected because many have progressive jackpots. Depending on the amount, winners are given a W-2G.

Not many table games have 300 to 1 bet payoffs so that threshold is not usually met. Be next to impossible for casinos record every win or loss of every player in their building and even if someone cashes out for say $3000, they don't know if they bought... [ More ]

Comment #20

Bleudog101 — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:51:27 GMT

When I cashed in the $5K ticket, it was all cash which I split with the original ticket owner (So I had the tax liability).

Comment #19

Fantasy876 — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:22:35 GMT

Learn something new every day. I didn't know about cashing agents and super agents. But it seems like it's unique to KY having stores dedicated just for this. That would be so convenient if other states adopted that. The district offices are not close for most players. And it would make going to the district offices more exciting knowing you're going to claim something juicy.

On second thought, I think the reason other states don't do this is operational costs. Is it worth having them... [ More ]

Comment #18

nychic — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:27:44 GMT

I have had a hard time cashing in $500 in NYC. Some smoke shop/lotto store I frequent never wants to pay out and lie about not having money. Only place I have had no problem cashing out lottery tickets is the Stop n Shop grocery store where they also do lotto and have lotto machines. All the stores that are exclusively for lotto have been the worst, they always say they don't have cash.

Comment #17

Bleudog101 — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 12:31:58 GMT

As I said in previous posts best to my knowledge there are no lottery lobbyists to get this archaic tax level moved up.

Pre-Covid 19 two Congressfolks, one from Illinois and other from Nevada proposed legislation to increase the taxable limit from $1200 to $5K. It didn't go anywhere then. The IRS did agree this past January to increase it to $2K. BTW this is for slot play only. Someone @ Caesars S. IN tried to explain to me how the tax rate is different for card games, Roulette...but I... [ More ]

Comment #16

FrostyGambling — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 06:12:21 GMT

This may be good for remote areas.

Comment #15

grwurston — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 05:10:50 GMT

By me anything over $600 you have to fill out a claim form. They have expanded cash locations for up to $5000, casinos will cash up to $25,000. Over $25,000 you go to the lottery office. The office will pay you the same day up to $25,000. More than that allow at least 30 business days.

The delay for jackpot payouts is cause they need time to collect money from other states, and do thorough background and financial checks on the winner. While you're waiting that will give you time to calm do... [ More ]

Comment #14

noise-gate — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 04:02:24 GMT

* CA lottery payments are pretty annoying. $599 payout at a retailer. $1,000 in person at lottery office between business hours. If you win the MM or PB jackpot: prepare to wait for several months

Comment #13

grwurston — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 03:37:49 GMT

From Mich lottery web site.

More details https://www.michiganlottery.com/resources/how-to-claim-prizes

Prizes of $999.99 or less:

You can claim a lottery prize of $999.99 or less for a ticket purchased in-store at any Michigan Lottery retailer. While most Lottery retailers redeem prizes as a service for their customers, please keep in mind that they are not required to do so by the Lottery or state law. Some stores have strict policies regarding the amount of cash available to the... [ More ]

Comment #12

Stack47 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 22:13:14 GMT

The $2000 doesn't apply to lottery winnings so it's still over $600 .

Comment #11

Stack47 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 22:10:42 GMT

Yep a Cashing Agent will cash any ticket valued up to $5000. I cashed two 50 cent pick 4 straight/box $2600 winners at the same store; filled out two KY Lottery claim forms and got two checks each for $2600.

The very next day the tax form was in the mail box!

Took about a week for me to get two W-2Gs probably because the Cashing Agent had mail the claim forms, review, and send them.

Comment #10

tomtom80 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:31:52 GMT

ALL lottery winnings are taxable. The federal government used to require reporting above $600. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed that to $2000. Different states have their own rules also.

EDIT: I may be wrong about this applying to lottery tickets. Please don't take tax advice from someone on the internet.

Comment #9

Bleudog101 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:23:27 GMT

Here in KY they have many places that will cash up to $5K. When I won mine went to next town over where they have two quick stop type of stores that can do this. They take your info for the lottery and get $5K in cash. The very next day the tax form was in the mail box!

We also have sixteen centers like as above that can cash up to $25K. None are near me, so quicker to go to Headquarters if I'd ever be that lucky

Comment #8

Tony Numbers — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:48:35 GMT

If winnings over $600 are taxable, how will gas stations collect the tax

Comment #7

Newkids06 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:21:42 GMT

This is excellent makes it much easier on players. Stores can make a little more profit. Not everybody has time to run down to the lottery center to claim prizes. Also helps with taxes a bit. Hopefully all states change this.

Comment #6

JPLAY — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:25:42 GMT

Good luck with that. The gas stations drop money into safe at 100$ so only one I find that will cash tickets is Meijer. Anyone else know who cashes 500$ plus? One gas station boss said they can write you a check,..

Comment #5

Tony Numbers — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:31:58 GMT

Wake Up New York time for online lottery

Comment #4

Jackpot777 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:10:53 GMT

Now the players are going to want them to change the $1000 prizes to $999.

Comment #3

sweetie7398 — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 15:05:40 GMT

Exactly

Comment #2

LottoNoobie — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 14:33:55 GMT

Yeah, that's because they made it harder to hit. And their scratch offs have gone downhill.

Comment #1

grwurston — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:46:48 GMT

Here's hoping all other state lotteries do this too.

Michigan Lottery allows prizes of up to $999 to be claimed in person at retailers

Lottery Post — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:35:11 GMT

From $600 to $999: now easier to cash tickets

By Kate Northrop

The Michigan Lottery has increased the threshold for prize claims in person from $600 to $999, allowing players to redeem greater prizes at convenient spots located around the state.

Lottery retailers are now authorized to pay out larger prizes of up to $999 to players, up from the previous allowed amount of $600.

The Lottery announced the change on Aug. 24, which also impacts how much players can redeem at self-serve... [ More ]