This $1 million winning lottery ticket was purchased at the Speedway gas station on South Rochester Road in Rochester.
Michigan Lottery Connect
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
An Oakland County man recently won the $1 million top prize after deciding on a whim to play a Michigan Lottery game.
The lucky 62-year-old, who has opted to remain anonymous, bought the winning ticket for the lottery’s Ruby 7s game at the Speedway gas station on South Rochester Road in Rochester, according to Michigan Lottery Connect, the lottery’s news and information service.
“I picked out several different scratch-off tickets while I was at the store, and as the clerk was grabbing them off the rolls, she asked if I wanted a Ruby 7s ticket too, so I said: ‘Why not?'” the man said.
He said he “went into shock” when he saw the big win.
“My daughter was with me, so I showed her the ticket, and she nearly hit her head on the roof of the car from jumping up with excitement!” he said.
The winner recently visited Michigan Lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim his prize. He chose to receive a lump sum of about $693,000 rather than the full amount in annuity payments, lottery officials said.
He plans to use the windfall to start college funds for his children, buy a house and “have some fun with the rest.”
The lottery’s Ruby 7s game launched in June. Tickets are $10 and offer players a chance to win between $10 and $1 million.
As of Monday, more than $29 million in prizes remain in the game, including two top prizes. Odds of winning the million-dollar prize are about 1 in 1.9 million, according to ScratchOdds.com, a website that tracks scratch-off games and their remaining prizes.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Oakland County man wins $1 million after clerk suggests Ruby 7s ticket
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 10:13 PM.