Couple Win Lotto Jackpot With Cash From Birthday Scratch Card

By Georgina JеdikovskaLotteryAug 3, 2023

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An astonished pensioner has told how he won the lottery twice after using winnings from a scratch card to scoop a jackpot worth nearly USD 300,000.

Gary Halama, 73, from Garden City, Michigan State, USA, poses in undated photo. He won USD 288,903 (GBP 225,987) on the lottery in July 2023. (Michigan Lottery/Newsflash)

Amazed Gary Halama – from Garden City, Michigan State, USA – had been cashing in a win from scratch cards his wife had got for her birthday.

But as they stood in the queue at their local 7-Eleven store they saw the jackpot for another game was rising quickly and decided to chance their luck.

Gary, 78, explained in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Michigan Lottery: “We don’t play the Lottery all that often, but my wife had gotten some tickets for her birthday earlier in the month.”

He added: “When we cashed them in, I saw how high the Fantasy 5 jackpot was, so we decided to use some of the winnings to buy five easy picks.

“We got home and had some family over, so we put the ticket aside.

“Later that night, we were looking at the numbers and thought they were all pretty high so we figured no one would win.

“When we checked our ticket and saw all five numbers, we freaked out! It was so hard to believe we had really won this huge jackpot!”

Gary was one of two winners in the game who each got USD 288,903 (GBP 225,987) prizes on 21st July.

He collected the prize at Michigan lottery headquarters in Lansing on 1st August and said he plans to save the money in his retirement fund.

Image shows the 7-Eleven, located at 28205 Ford Road in Garden City, Michigan State, USA, where the lucky ticket was bought, undated photo. Gary Halama, 73, won USD 288,903 (GBP 225,987) on the lottery in July 2023. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

Gary said: “Winning and having extra in our retirement account certainly does put our minds at ease and lets us enjoy retirement more.”

Michigan Lottery officials said: “Each Fantasy 5 play is only USD 1 [GBP 0.8].

“For an additional USD 1 [GBP 0.8] per play, EZmatch may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a chance to win up to USD 500 [GBP 391] instantly.

“For an additional USD 1 [GBP 0.8] per play, Double Play may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to USD 110,000 [GBP 86,084] in the nightly Double Play drawing.

“Fantasy 5 players select five numbers from one to 39.

“Players who match all five Fantasy 5 numbers drawn win a jackpot that starts at USD 100,000 [GBP 78,259].

“Fantasy 5 drawings are held seven days a week at 7.29pm.”