LANSING, Mich. - A Kentwood man has won $25,000 a year for life playing Lucky for Life and he has his father to thank.
"I buy tickets and a lot of times I will forget to check them right away," said Bhavik Patel. "My dad was in town visiting recently and saw a pile of tickets on my desk, so he started checking them. If he hadn't done that, who knows when, or if, I would have found out that I had won.
Patel matched the five white balls drawn April 23 - 07-12-20-27-48 - to win the big prize. He bought his winning ticket at the Speedway gas station, located at 16819 Marsh Road in Haslett.
"I bought the ticket when I was visiting my sister, who lives in Lansing," said Patel. "I never thought about it again until my dad came to me with a shocked look on his face to tell me I won."
The 29-year-old visited Lansing headquarters on Friday to claim his prize.
"Knowing I can count on this for the rest of my life gives me such a sense of security," Patel said.
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