A clerk’s mistake has earned a lucky man a USD 25,000 a year prize for the rest of his life after the store worker accidentally printed the wrong ticket.

Michael Sopejstal, 60, was stunned when he checked his ticket and realised he had matched numbers 11, 15, 17, 24, and 48, on Michigan Lottery’s ‘Lucky for Life’ drawing on 17th September.

The lucky player from the state of Illinois, USA, said the win followed after an employee at the GoLo gas station in the city of New Buffalo, Michigan State, USA, gave him the wrong ticket.

Michael said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Michigan Lottery: “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.

“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.

“I checked my ticket one morning and saw that I had won USD 25,000 [GBP 19,951] a year for life.

“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!”

At lottery headquarters, Michael was given the option to choose between a one-time payment of USD 390,000 [GBP 311,149], or USD 25,000 [GBP 19,951] a year for the next 20 years.

He chose the lump sum, and said he would use a part of it to travel and save the remainder.

Michigan Lottery representatives said: “For just USD 2 [GBP 1.6] per play, Lucky For Life gives Lottery players a chance to win prizes ranging from USD 3 [GBP 2.4] to a lifetime of cash.

“To win the game’s top prize of USD 1,000 [GBP 797] a day for life, players must match all five winning numbers ranging from 1 to 48, plus one Lucky Ball ranging from 1 to 18.

“Players who match all five winning numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, will win USD 25,000 [GBP 19,951] a year for life.

“Drawings take place at 10.38pm, seven days a week.”