Saginaw County man says $500K Lottery win ‘feels like a breath of fresh air’

LANSING, MI - A stop for some morning coffee landed a Saginaw County man the win of a lifetime as he brought home a $500,000 prize playing the Michigan Lottery's Win Big instant game.

"I'm in a lottery club at work, and the club member who buys tickets bought two Win Big tickets from 7-Eleven, and we won $5," said Kevin Abbe, 38, of Freeland, Mich. "I was lazy and didn't make my morning coffee that day, so I stopped at 7-Eleven to buy one on my way to our jobsite. While I was there, I bought the next two Win Big tickets.

"I scratched the tickets and couldn't stop shaking when I saw I won $500,000! I scanned the ticket at the store, and then scanned it using the ticket scanner on the Lottery app. When the app confirmed my win, I yelled: 'I just won half a million dollars!' and ran out of the store."

Abbe bought his ticket at the 7-Eleven, located at 4300 Wilder Road in Bay City. Abbe claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters in Lansing recently and says he plans on using the money to buy a new house.

"Winning is unreal and still hasn't fully sunk in," said Abbe. "It feels like a breath of fresh air!"

For the latest on Michigan Lottery, check out the official Michigan Lottery site , which also offers more information on instant tickets, raffles and other lottery games.

The last players from Michigan to win a Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot is the Breakfast Club lottery club which claimed a $842 million jackpot in June 2024. The members plan to use the money to buy a home in Florida and travel.

And while they were lucky winners, it's smart for players to check their tickets immediately as a Mega Millions winner worth $1 million sold in Southfield in 2023 went unclaimed. The money instead went to the state's School Aid Fund.

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