Man Rescues Lottery Ticket From Garbage, Wins $25,000 a Year for Life

A Michigan man will be making $25,000 a year for life after rescuing his lotto ticket from the garbage. 

Jeff Heinig rescued his Lucky for Life ticket from the trash after he initially tossed it thinking it was worthless.

Heinig, who is from the town of Harrison, purchased the ticket last Wednesday. 

He told the state’s lotto officials that he got his dates mixed up and checked the website before the drawing had even happened.

"I was back on the website Friday, and the Lucky For Life numbers caught my eye. They were the numbers I always play, and that's when it hit me that I had checked my ticket before the drawing had happened. I searched high and low for the ticket, but couldn't find it anywhere until I went rifling through the trash," he said at a press conference Monday.

The ticket matched all of the balls drawn on Thursday night: 3, 4, 8, 16, and 27. 

Once he realized he was the big winner, he called his wife, Wendy, in a state of euphoria. 

Wendy said that the money is a big help to the couple after Jeff faced health issues earlier this year. 

"We've had a rough start to the year," she said. "Earlier this year, Jeff had a massive heart attack and actually died three times before they saved his life. We're all so fortunate to still have him with us, and winning this prize means we can enjoy doing some fun things together that we couldn't have afforded before."

RELATED STORIES