After coming just one number short of hitting the jackpot in Michigan's Fantasy 5 last month, a Michigan man decided to try his luck again the following day and it paid off in a big way, CNN reported.
The 53-year-old Macomb County resident, who chose to remain anonymous, matched all five numbers the night after his near miss, winning the $795,905 Fantasy 5 jackpot, according to a Michigan Lottery news release on Thursday.
Lottery officials said the man purchased the winning ticket online on July 27, just a day after nearly hitting the $610,000 jackpot in the July 26 game.
"I always buy Fantasy 5 tickets if the jackpot is over $250,000," he told the Michigan Lottery. "I usually buy my tickets in-store, but the night of the drawing, I realized I'd forgotten to buy some."
He quickly went online to purchase two tickets. After the drawing, he received an email from the Michigan Lottery saying he'd won $1.
Initially, he thought that was all he'd won, but then another email arrived instructing him to log into his account to claim his prize.
"When I logged in and saw $795,905 pending, my first thought was that it was a scam," he said, adding that the reality of his win set in when he visited the lottery office to claim his prize.
"What's crazy is the night before, I matched four out of five numbers on my Fantasy 5 ticket and thought: 'I was so close!'" he shared.
He had won $100 that night but felt disappointed.
