A young woman from Michigan scored a big lottery win this week when she forgot to buy the hot dog buns she needed for a family cookout.
When Maranda Coffey, 18, returned from a shopping trip to Dore's Party Store in Whittemore and realized her oversight she went back to the store and bought a Michigan Lottery Cash for Life scratch-off ticket while she was there.
"I went back to the store with my mom to get the buns for our cookout and decided I would buy a Cash for Life ticket," Maranda said. "I let Mom pay for the buns and I spent the last dollar in my pocket on the Lottery ticket."
The purchase turned out to be money well spent because when Maranda scratched away the covering on the ticket she discovered she'd won $400 a week for life. She claimed her prize on Friday, August 1, and opted to take the money as a one-time lump-sum payment of $442,842, before taxes.
Maranda is a staff member at the party store and news of her lottery success has resulted in her having to perform a few additional tasks.
"Customers would come into the store and ask which employee won the big prize and when they found out it was me they would ask me to touch their tickets for good luck," Maranda explained.
Miranda plans for her lottery windfall are pretty simple. She intends to buy a house and invest the rest of the money.
