Jackson County man wins $25K a year for life playing Michigan Lottery

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - 77-year-old Mark Watson matched the five white balls drawn on Sept. 20 and won a big prize.

He won $25,000, a year for life from the Michigan Lottery by playing the Lucky for Life game after buying a ticket online.

“I had never played the Lucky for Life game but decided to try in instead of Mega Millions or Powerball,” said Watson. “The next day I had an email saying I’d won a prize. Once I logged in to my Lottery account and saw how much I had won I was stunned.

“I woke my wife up to tell her the good news and she thought she was dreaming. It’s not a dream, but sure feels like it is!”

Watson visited the Lottery headquarters recently to claim his prize. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000 rather than annuity payments of $25,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater. With his winnings, he plans to become debt free and then save the remainder.

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