Nearly making the single worst decision in the history of their lives, a couple in Michigan almost threw away a $2 million lottery ticket.
The couple purchased the winning lottery ticket for $20, and were about to throw it away, thinking it a loser, but a friend wanted to check it. That’s when they discovered that the ticket was a $2 million winner.
“I didn’t know the ticket was a winner, and our friend wanted to look it over,” the husband, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “When he told us the ticket was a $2 million winner, we were shocked.”
The couple then had to decide how they would receive their winnings, in either a structured settlement annuity or as a lottery lump sum payment.
Though which is the more profitable choice is dependent on such situations as the current maximum federal tax rates, and the state in which the winner resides, many often choose a lump sum payment, as the winners of a recent Powerball in Alabama did.
“This is a blessing in our lives and proves that anything is possible with faith in God,” 60-year-old Alice Dawson told NorthEscambia.com, after winning $53,440,213.76 “We plan on using our winnings to help our friends, family and our church.”
Just as Dawson decided, the Michigan couple chose to take a lottery lump sum payment as well. After taxes, the total amount of winnings comes to about $1.3 million.
News traveled fast throughout the small town, and soon enough, just about everyone had learned of the couple’s new fortune.
“Almost everyone in town knows we are the big winners and they are happy for us,” said the husband.
The wife immediately retired, joining her already-retired husband, and both now plan to invest the money and enjoy time camping.