Michigan Man Wins $376K Jackpot After Researching Previous Winning Lottery Numbers

A Michigan man is crediting his knack for research as the reason why he's won nearly $400,000 from a lucky lottery ticket.

On Friday, the 59-year-old Macomb County man, who's chosen to remain anonymous, said that by studying previous winning numbers he was able to crack the code toward his own luck.

"I play Fantasy 5 once the jackpot creeps up a bit," the man said, according to the Michigan Lottery. "I used to always play easy picks, but then I started studying the numbers and playing what came out the most, and it worked!"

"I watched the drawing that night, and the numbers looked pretty familiar. I went to the kitchen to grab my ticket, and as I was looking it over, I just kept thinking: 'No way is this happening to me!'" he added.

The player bought the Fantasy 5 ticket from D Brothers Party Store in Roseville, Michigan.

He said that he plans to travel and invest the rest of his earnings.

The Michigan Lottery has a direct connection with the education system and local businesses in the region. Each time someone purchases a ticket, the proceeds go toward K-12 education and companies that employ Michigan residents.

Michigan K-12 public schools provide services to nearly 1.5 million children. Funding provided by the Michigan Lottery raises over $780 for each and every student.

Since 1972, more than $24.6 billion has been raised for Michigan schools. An additional $43 billion in prizes has been awarded to lottery players and $5.1 billion paid to retailers.

In 2020, the Michigan Lottery has supplied over $1.2 billion to the Michigan School Aid Fund. Sixty-one percent of lottery sales are given back to players in the form of prizes. From 2011-2011, Michigan players won over $18.7 billion.

The largest jackpot won in Michigan Lottery history was $1.05 billion in 2021.

Each year, there's a surplus of money through the lottery that's awarded to a lucky winner. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are one in 302.6 million, while the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million, according to Lottery USA.

The biggest lottery prize ever awarded took place in 2016. A Powerball jackpot prize of $1.6 billion was split between ticket holders in California (Marvin and Mae Acosta), Florida (Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt), and Tennessee (John and Lisa Robinson), according to the Associated Press.

Each couple received around $533 million before taxes, which ended up being $327.8 million as a lump sum payment.