Michigan Man's Losing Lottery Tickets Lead to a Big Win: 'Shocked'

Safa Behnam won $100,000 when he played the Michigan Lottery’s 500X Money Maker Second Chance game

A Michigan man recently scored big in a recent lottery game thanks to his losing tickets just days before his birthday.

Safa Behnam, 45, of Sterling Heights, won $100,000 when he played the Michigan Lottery’s 500X Money Maker Second Chance game, per a Tuesday news release from Michigan Lottery Connect.

Benham was selected in a Nov. 30 random drawing. He took part in the game by scanning non-winning 500X Money Maker tickets via the lottery’s app.

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“I have been playing the 500X Money Maker game a lot, hoping to win one of the big $6 million prizes, and then scanning the non-winners for a second chance,” Behnam said, according to the news release. “I saw an email from the Lottery saying I’d won a $100,000 prize, but I thought it was a scam. I called the Lottery office to confirm it was just a scam email, so when they told me it was real, I was shocked. My birthday is in a few days, so winning is a pretty great early birthday gift!”

According to the Michigan lottery, each drawing in the 500X Money Maker Second Chance promotion awards prizes to winners ranging from $500 to $100,000. Players can participate in the game when they have their non-winning tickets scanned on the Michigan Lottery mobile app ticket scanner until June 21 of next year.

As a result of his winnings, Benham plans to take his family on a vacation to Mexico and save the rest of his jackpot. “Winning means less stress and more vacations and relaxing for me and my family,” he said in the news release.

Related: Unclaimed $44 Million Florida Lottery Ticket Expired — Here’s What Happens to the Money Now

Benham wasn’t the only person to have luck on his side in winning a substantial prize from the Michigan Lottery. On Sept. 17, Michael Sopejstal, a 60-year-old Illinois man, won $25,000 a year for life after playing the Michigan Lottery’s Lucky For Life game. Sopejstal credited a clerk’s error for his winnings.

“I always get a Lucky for Life ticket for 10 or 20 draws while I’m here," Sopejstal said, via Michigan Lottery. “I asked the retailer for a ticket for 10 draws, but he accidentally printed a ticket with 10 lines for one draw, but I told him I still wanted it.”

Related: Florida Man Goes Out for a Sandwich, Comes Home with a $5 Million Lottery Ticket

He added: “I checked my ticket one morning and saw that I had won $25,000 a year for life. I immediately started thinking about all the things I could do with the money and whether I wanted to take the lump sum or annuity option. It was an amazing feeling!"

Sopejstal chose a $390,000 lump sum prize instead of $25,000 a year over 20 years.

Related: $1M Scratch-Off Lottery Winner Retires Immediately: 'I Don’t Have to Wait!'

Additionally, Shayla Kauflin, also from Michigan, won a Lucky for Life prize during an Oct. 9 drawing. “I logged in to my lottery account the next day to see if I’d won anything, and when I saw $390,000 pending, I started screaming, crying, and freaking out!” she said at the time. Like Sopejstal, Kauflin also opted for the lump sum payment of $390,000.

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