Woman wins $2 million lottery by 'copying' the woman ahead of her — then she ends up losing $700,000

A woman's impromptu decision to copy the numbers of the shopper ahead of her at a lottery counter won her a $2 million jackpot. However, the lucky break quickly took a troubling turn when the woman lost $700,000 of her winnings. The Michigan woman bought the lottery ticket from the Strike It Rich game when she was standing in the checkout line at a store in Warren.

She spent $20 on a scratch-off ticket and headed to her car to check if she had won. When the 64-year-old saw she had won big, she quickly rolled up her windows. As reported by The Detroit News, she recounted, “I scratched the ticket off when I got in my car, and immediately locked the doors and signed the ticket when I saw I’d won $2 million. It still hasn’t fully sunk in that I won!” The winner told the lottery authorities that the money would greatly help her and her family, who were somewhat struggling, as reported by Market Realist.

Commenting on the win, Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli opined that the woman’s case shows that one never knows when luck might surprise them. Shkreli said, “It’s great to know that this $2 million prize will have a positive impact on the winner and her family." The woman chose to take her prize as a one-time $1.3 million payout at the Lottery office. She shared that she will be using the amount to pay off her car, fix things at her home, and donate some to charity. Since the winner opted for the lump sum amount at once, she lost out on the remaining $700,000 that she would have gotten had she taken an annual pay option.

She also lost part of the prize money as anyone with over $5,000 win is required to pay a 24% federal tax. Lawyers and financial experts have also warned about the risks associated with selecting the lump sum. As reported by The US Sun, attorney Andrew Stoltmann claimed that 90% of winners choose the one-time cash-out option—a mistake they later regret.

In a similar case, Mildred Simoneriluto purchased a Cash 5 lottery ticket at a grocery store in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, in May 2024. However, two weeks later, when she discovered she had won $2.5 million, the ticket was nowhere to be found. She then realized the ticket was still inside a jacket she had donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America, a charity that collects items to support veterans across the country, as reported by The Independent. The woman said, “I was stupefied; there are no words for it, there's no expression. How can I get it back?” She added, “I went to Shop n’Save about 100 times, and they said there’s nothing they can do.” Lottery officials informed her that she must submit the physical ticket by May 8 this year to claim her winnings.