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First-timer picks up $500K lotto winnings on 21st birthday

 Wild Side Instant Win Game
Posted at 9:51 AM, Feb 15, 2024
and last updated 2024-02-15 11:00:48-05

SAGINAW, Mich. — A Livingston County man celebrated his 21st birthday signing papers and going through documentation with the Michigan Lottery.

But hey— What’s a little paperwork when you’ve won $500K on your first try?

The anonymous player had grabbed a Wild Side instant game—one of the scratch-off kinds—and the rest was history.

“I didn’t know how to play the game, so I took the ticket home and had my parents walk me through it," he told lottery officials. “When [the lottery office] confirmed it really was a $500,000 winner, we were in disbelief. I knew right then that this money was about to change my life.”

The lucky player plans to study abroad with his winnings and save the rest.