A 60-year-old Macomb County resident bought a scratch ticket at Kroger expecting to win nothing. He walked out a millionaire.
The man purchased a $20 King Cashword ticket from a self-serve machine at the Kroger on 26 Mile Road in early January. While scratching it off, he thought he’d won $5,000. Then he found another word.
“At first, I thought I won $5,000, and then I found another word to make 10 for a $1 million prize,” he told Michigan Lottery officials. “Winning feels like a huge blessing and means I can retire earlier than I planned.”
His win marks the latest in a series of major instant lottery winners from Macomb County. Over the past nine months, local residents have claimed more than $9 million in scratch-off prizes, including one $6 million jackpot that stands as the largest instant game win in county history.
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Sterling Heights Man Claims Record $6 Million Prize
The biggest Macomb County instant lottery winner came forward in April 2025. A 60-year-old Sterling Heights man bought a $50 scratch ticket at Najors Liquor & Deli on Van Dyke Avenue and won the top prize from the $6,000,000 Wealth game.
“When I scratched the ticket and saw I won $6 million, I thought I was going to faint,” he said.
The 40-year veteran of playing scratch tickets didn’t believe his eyes. He scanned the winning ticket twice on the Michigan Lottery app before accepting reality.
He chose the lump sum payout of $4.1 million over annuity payments. His plans: take a vacation, then save the rest.
Woman, 79, Wins $1 Million After Seeing Worker Stock Kiosk
A Shelby Township woman walked past a lottery kiosk at the Kroger on 23 Mile Road in July 2025. A worker was restocking tickets. On her way back through the store, she stopped.
The 79-year-old bought five Smokin’ Hot Million tickets for $10 each. At home that evening, she scratched them all.
One revealed a $1 million prize.
“I sat there and stared at the ticket for a while and then told my husband that I just won big,” she said. “When he asked how big, I told him: ‘I think I just won $1 million.’ He didn’t believe me until he looked the ticket over himself.”
They invited their children over without explanation. When they showed the ticket, nobody could process what they were seeing.
She received $693,000 as a lump sum payment. The money will go toward sharing with her kids, taking a cruise, and helping others.
St. Clair Shores Man Wins After Switching to $5 Tickets
A 69-year-old St. Clair Shores man had played $2 scratch tickets for years. About a month before September 2025, he decided to try $5 games instead.
That decision paid off. He bought a Spectacular Wild Time ticket at Little Mack Beer & Wine on Little Mack Avenue and won $500,000.
“When I was scratching the ticket, I saw I matched the number six, but I finished scratching the rest of the ticket before revealing the winning amount, which I assumed was $5 or $10,” he said. “When I scratched the amount, I saw one zero, then another, and another and that’s when I knew I won big.”
He plans to retire and enjoy the winnings with his family.
Weekend Trip Turns Into $500,000 Win
A 51-year-old Macomb County woman drove north to Lewiston in January 2026 for a weekend getaway with her sister and nephew. They bought lottery tickets after arriving.
That night, they scratched them around the kitchen table. One Linked Wins ticket showed $500,000.
“We didn’t believe it,” she said. “We scanned it on the Michigan Lottery app and still didn’t believe it when $500,000 came up on the screen.”
She’ll use the money for another trip with the same companions who witnessed her win, then invest the remainder.
Where Macomb Winners Buy Their Tickets
Four of the five recent major winners purchased their scratch-offs at Kroger locations. The stores on 26 Mile Road in Macomb and 23 Mile Road in Shelby Township have both sold million-dollar tickets in the past year.
Najors Liquor & Deli in Sterling Heights sold the record $6 million ticket, while Little Mack Beer & Wine in St. Clair Shores produced a $500,000 winner.
All five winners chose to remain anonymous. Michigan law allows lottery winners to keep their identities private, and most do.
What $1 Million Actually Pays
The advertised prize amounts aren’t what winners take home. The January 2026 Macomb County winner who claimed $1 million received $693,000 as a lump sum payment. That figure reflects required tax withholdings and the reduced amount paid for choosing immediate cash over annual installments.
The $6 million Sterling Heights winner received $4.1 million upfront, roughly 68% of the advertised amount.
Winners can choose annuity payments spread over multiple years for the full prize value. Nearly all recent Macomb County instant lottery winners opted for immediate cash.
The Reality Behind the Headlines
Michigan Lottery players won $1.7 billion from instant games in 2024 across the entire state. Macomb County’s $9 million in major prizes over nine months represents a tiny fraction of statewide sales.
The King Cashword game that produced the January 2026 winner still has two $1 million top prizes remaining. The odds of winning any prize on that $20 ticket are roughly 1 in 3. The odds of winning $1 million are considerably longer.
Scratch-off tickets remain the most popular lottery product in Michigan, outselling draw games like Powerball and Mega Millions. The $50 tickets introduced in July 2022 have created a new category of instant millionaires, with the Sterling Heights man becoming the first in Macomb County to claim a top prize from that price tier.
Five people walked into stores across Macomb County over the past nine months and left with life-changing money. Millions of others bought tickets and won nothing. The scratch-off games keep selling.
