77-year-old Michigan man tries lottery game, wins $25,000 a year for life

JACKSON COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man won $25,000 for life from the Michigan Lottery when he tried a game he hadn't played.

"I had never played the Lucky For Life game, but decided to try in instead of Mega Millions or Powerball," Mark Watson said. "The next day I had an email saying I’d won a prize. Once I logged in to my Lottery account and saw how much I had won I was stunned."

Watson, 77, who is from Jackson County, bought the winning ticket online. When he saw he won, he had to share the news.

"I woke my wife up to tell her the good news, and she thought she was dreaming. It’s not a dream, but sure feels like it is!" she said.

Watson chose to receive his winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000 rather than annuity payments of $25,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater. He plans to pay off his debts, then save the rest of the cash.