Kentucky man wins $1 million lottery after buying ticket during emergency shutdown
Kentucky man wins $1 million lottery after buying ticket during emergency shutdown
- Michael Schlemmer bought a $20 lottery scratch ticket on May 17 and won a whopping $1 million
- He stopped at a small convenience store off US Highway 25 in Corbin for fuel
- On May 18, he received his first payout at Lottery headquarters, receiving a check for $616,330 after tax
A Kentucky man who made an emergency stop for gas was stunned after buying a $20 lottery scratch ticket and hitting the $1 million jackpot.
Michael Schlemmer was driving down US Highway 25 in Corbin, Kentucky, on May 17 when he said he stopped at the Handy Food Mart to refuel.
“I ran out of gas, and I rolled in there,” he said, not knowing it would be his lucky day.
Schlemmer said he only had $40 on him and spent $20 on gas and the remaining $20 on a lottery ticket.
“I scratched it off, looked at it, and went back into the store. I showed it to the girls who sold it to me, and they almost had a fit,” he said. “The store owners were there, and they both started chuckling.”
Schlemmer admitted “nothing crossed his mind at first” until he went to Lottery headquarters on May 18 and handed over a check for $616,330 after taxes.
Michael Schlemmer was stunned to learn he was the Kentucky Lottery Scratch-off winner. He is pictured holding up a check from the $1 million jackpot
The convenience store that Schlemmer walked into on May 17 is located on US Highway 25 West in Corbin, Kentucky. The store receives $8,620 for the sale of the winning ticket
Schlemmer dug up the auto symbol to win the game’s $1,000,000 top prize, according to Kentucky Lottery civil servants.
Officials said he opted to take the game’s $862,000 one-time cash payment instead of annuity payments.
The Kentucky Lottery posted a congratulatory message from Schlemmer with a photo of him holding his top prize
Before Schlemmer took home the grand prize, he was looking for a car and told the dealer, “I’m waiting for a big check and I’ll get it,” Schlemmer said.
Now with his new winnings, he plans to buy a newer vehicle and the rest, he said, will be put in the bank.
The convenience store where the winning lottery ticket was sold will also receive an $8,620 payout, lottery officials said.
According to the agency’s website, the Kentucky Lottery funds educational programs, scholarships, and grants for Kentuckians.
The site also points out that the odds of winning some of the scratch card prizes are 1 in 3.57.
Since 1999, the lottery has raised more than $4.4 billion in funding.