Vacationers win big lottery prize in Michigan. ‘Sitting pretty’

While picking up snacks for a canoe trip, a 68-year-old decided to buy some lottery tickets.

After the drawing, David Constantakis and his wife returned to the store in Frankfurt to scan the tickets. When he scanned a ticket, the machine told him to “visit the store.”

Confused, his wife decided to look up the winning numbers for the Fantasy 5 drawing. She read them out carefully — 08-17-18 — and then stopped.

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“When she got to the last two numbers, she said, ‘If we get 24 and 29, we’re in good shape!'” the winner said.

Constantakis, of Wayne County, looked at his winning ticket “in awe,” he told officials. He and two other lucky winners, who wished to remain anonymous, would share a prize of $697,974, Michigan lottery officials said.

The 68-year-old recently claimed his prize and posed for a photo with a giant check.

Constantakis plans to use the prize money to pay off his house, donate some of the winnings and save the rest, he told authorities.

Frankfort is located approximately 260 miles northwest of Detroit.