Lottery winner remains tightlipped about exciting win
By Kate Northrop
FENTON, Mich. — A Michigan man managed to keep his $25,000 a year for life Lucky for Life prize a secret from his kids for nearly ten days.
It took some restraint for one Michigan resident to remain tightlipped about his lottery win, but keeping the secret was worth it in the end.
Kenneth Stayt of Fenton will use his $25,000 a year for life Lucky for Life prize to "live easy," but before the money was officially his, he decided to keep his win private.
He had purchased a Lucky for Life ticket at Sagebrush Cantina on North Fenton Road in Fenton for the drawing on July 19 after he had a change of heart on playing his usual lottery game.
"I go to Sagebrush Cantina regularly and usually play Club Keno while I'm there, but this time I purchased a Lucky for Life ticket instead," Stayt told the Michigan Lottery. "I went to MichiganLottery.com to check the winning numbers around midnight and was amazed when I saw my ticket matched all five of the white balls."
The winning white ball numbers in the July 19 Lucky for Life drawing were 12, 23, 33, 35, and 36. Had he also matched the Lucky Ball 8, he would have won the game's top prize of $1,000 a day for life.
"This is a life-changing amount of money that will allow me to live easy and not have to worry about things," the 70-year-old added.
He recently visited Lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim his prize, which he opted to take as a one-time lump sum of $390,000 rather than $25,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater. Now, he can finally let the truth slip.
"I've been keeping my big win a secret from my kids, and now that I have my check, I plan to surprise them with the money!" Stayt said to Lottery officials.
He's looking forward to sharing his winnings with his family and friends and plans on investing whatever is left over.
The odds of winning the second-tier Lucky for Life prize of $25,000 a year for life are 1 in 1,813,028.
Lucky for Life drawings take place every day at 10:38 p.m. EST. Tickets cost $2 each. All winning numbers, odds and prize amounts can be found on Lottery Post's Multi-State Lottery Results page.
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Congratulations 🎉 on the win.
I get one Lucky for Life ticket almost everyday.
If I win, I am keeping that a secret forever.
Will take the winning and add it all to the retirement account and act like nothing happened.
Well, if I win tonight's PB jackpot, am keeping that a secret as well 🤣🤣
Congratulations Sir. That is an amazing win and waiting for the check to clear is the right way to go.
Big Dreams don't mean anything with empty pockets.
Congrats Kenneth, treat your surprised family to a nice summer vacation.
I am sure that winners are all not that overly concerned about the fact that the check doesn't come or clear for days or even weeks if it is a big one. They will give you a down payment if you ask for it. Most don't because they don't want them to know that they are practically indigent. The family can sit on their haunches and wait like I am. They are only getting 14k which is the gift limit anyway to avoid a tax bite and in two separate checks anyway. They will all sneer at that amount I am sure. Ungrateful wretches that they are.
A slight correction: the 2025 annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000.
I think even with the correction, they will still sneer at that amount 🤣🤣
Ungrateful wretches that they are, indeed
Then I'd move the decimal point over two spots and give 190.00. I'd make out two checks to each person. If they whined or showed any hesitation of gratitude or said anything beforehand like how much is my cut gonna be, they get the smaller check.
Oh well, let's just stick with the 14K 🤣🤣🤣
Is it just me or does he not look all that happy in the promotional shoot? :/ He looks slightly miserable to me as if he's slightly frowning. I have seen promotional shoots for lottery where the lottery winner is absolutely beaming with happiness. The guy in this story kind of looks pained to me. :/
I've seen pictures of more glum looking winners than that. He just is one of many who cannot smile that well. he only won about 18k a year take home for 20 years. You cannot do much with that.