A Detroit area man's lottery strategy doesn't seem so odd anymore after he won $2 million on a Michigan Lottery instant ticket.
The 22-year-old, who chose to remain anonymous, told the Michigan Lottery he likes playing instant games but buys only odd-numbered tickets. His strategy paid off when he purchased a Diamond Dazzler scratchoff ticket in the Detroit suburb of Southgate, Mich.
"The Diamond Dazzler game is my favorite, so I asked the clerk what number the ticket was. When she said '21,' I told her I wanted it," he told the Michigan Lottery. "I scratched it off in the store, and when I saw it was a winner I looked at the clerk and then at my buddy who was with me and ran out to my car."
When he collected his prize Wednesday at state lottery offices in Lansing, he opted to take a one-time lump sum payment of about $1.3 million, which he said he will use to buy a car and invest.
Michigan allows winners of $10,000 or more in its state lottery to remain anonymous. If he had won Powerball or Mega Millions, he would have been required to release his name publicly to collect.
Eight states — Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas — allow some lottery winners to request that they not be publicly identified. Georgia's law, which applies to winners of $250,000 or more, was just signed May 7 and became effective immediately.
