NEW BUFFALO, Mich. (WFLA) — An Illinois man visiting Michigan to eat at his favorite restaurant left the state as a lottery winner after a “lucky mistake.”
Michael Sopejstal, 60, won big after he bought a “Lucky for Life” lottery ticket at the GoLo gas station, located at 102 West Buffalo Street in New Buffalo.
“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,” said Sopejstal. “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.”
The mistake led to Sopejstal winning the game’s second top prize — $25,000 for life. His ticket matched the five white balls drawn on Sept. 17: 11, 15, 17, 24 and 48.
“I checked my ticket one morning and saw that I had won $25,000 a year for life,” he said. “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!”
Sopejstal recently visited lottery headquarters to claim his prize and chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $390,000.
