A Michigan man decided to keep his life-changing lottery win a secret from his kids

Winning the lottery is always an exciting surprise, especially when you share the news with your family.

But when a Michigan man recently won $25,000 a year for life, he opted to keep it close to his chest.

“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!” 70-year-old Kenneth Stayt told Michigan Lottery Connect.

Stayt won through the game Lucky For Life after he purchased a lottery ticket at Sagebrush Cantina, a restaurant in the city of Fenton located northwest of Detroit on July 19. There, he realized the five numbers on his ticket matched the numbers on the five white balls drawn.

“I go to Sagebrush Cantina regularly and usually play Club Keno [a different lottery game] while I’m there, but this time I purchased a Lucky For Life ticket instead,” he told Michigan Lottery Connect. “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.”

Lucky for Life players have the chance to win a lifetime of cash for only $3 a play. To win the game’s top prize, which is $1,000 a day for life, players’ numbers must match all five winning numbers, ranging from one to 48, and one Lucky Ball, ranging from one to 18. If players have all five winning numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, they win $25,000 a year for life.

Stayt recently claimed his prize at the lottery headquarters in his state. However, instead of claiming $25,000 a year for the rest of his life, he chose to receive a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000.

He expressed how much this lottery win means to him, telling Michigan Lottery Connect: “This is a life-changing amount of money that will allow me to live easy and not have to worry about things.”

Stayt isn’t the first lottery player in the U.S. to win big recently. North Carolina resident William Evans trusted his instincts when playing the lottery and chose to play the digital game, Multiplier Mania. However, before he even played, he had a hunch that this game would make him a winner.

“Something just told me to play that one,” Evans told the North Carolina Education Lottery in a press release. “I’m stoked.”

According to the North Carolina Education Lottery, the odds of winning the top-level, “gold,” jackpot in the digital game are one in 40 million.

Still, Evans took a chance on this game, spending just $1 and winning the gold jackpot, worth $273,520. Evans officially claimed his winnings at the lottery headquarters, and after taxes, he walked away with $196,251.