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Man stunned after finding winning $200,000 lottery jackpot ticket stuffed in his wallet

Home> News

Published 15:57 25 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Man stunned after finding winning $200,000 lottery jackpot ticket stuffed in his wallet

Yandiel Cruz-Chavez, from Wyoming in Michigan, couldn't believe it when he matched all five numbers on the lottery

Emma Rosemurgey

Emma Rosemurgey

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Featured Image Credit: Michigan Lottery / Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: US News, Money, Good News

Emma Rosemurgey
Emma Rosemurgey

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Let's be real, most of us have daydreamed about winning the lottery. Not even necessarily a huge amount, but even a little nest egg that allowed us to pay off the mortgage would be nice.

Now, imagine you actually had won the lottery, but you were just wandering around, living your life as normal, with no idea you were secretly rich. One can dream.

That's exactly what happened to one man - well for a week at least - after he won the Fantasy 5 jackpot with a lottery ticket that was crumpled up in the bottom of his wallet.

Yandiel Cruz-Chavez hit the jackpot.
Michigan Lottery

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Yep, one Michigan man is living out our wildest dreams after winning almost $200,000 on a lottery ticket he forgot he had even purchased.

Yandiel Cruz-Chavez, from Wyoming, spent just $1 on a Fantasy 5 lottery ticket last month, before crumpling it up in his wallet and forgetting all about it - as many of us do.

But unbeknown to him, the 31-year-old had actually purchased the winning ticket, matching all five numbers, bagging him the jackpot - and the best part is, he was blissfully unaware for an entire week.

He says the money is a blessing to his family.
Yandie Cruz-Chavez / Facebook

According to the MailOnline, Cruz-Chavez told lottery officials: "I bought a Fantasy 5 ticket and forgot I had it in my wallet until a week after the drawing.

"I checked the ticket at the store and got a message to file a claim, so I looked up the winning numbers online. When I realised I'd won the jackpot, I was in disbelief at first."

After putting in a claim, Cruz-Chavez discovered that not only had he won a prize, he'd actually won an eye-watering $199,407.

He said: "Once it sunk in that I had really won, I was overcome with excitement and called everyone in my family to tell them the good news.

"The prize came at the perfect time and is a huge blessing to me and my family."

Yandiel Cruz-Chavez / Facebook

But how would you spend that kind of cash? Go on lots of fancy holidays? Buy a snazzy new car? Pay off your mortgage?

Well, Cruz-Chavez is a rather modest man and says he plans to save most of the cash, as well as investing in some home improvements.

What a sensible, sensible man - although we'd suggest you've got to throw at least one fancy holiday in there for good measure.

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