Do you remember your 21st birthday? Big day, big celebration, or nothing special?

I can't even remember what I did on my 21st birthday. I know I felt cool because it really was legal then and I could do things that I couldn't do before - legally, that is.

A hand scratching an instant lottery with coins.
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This Michigan man from Livingston County in the Detroit area spent his 21st birthday winning $500,000 in a Michigan Lottery game, Fox17 reported!

Now THAT is a way to celebrate your 21st birthday!

Excited Afro-American woman holding bunch of dollars, lottery winner, fortune
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He had never played a lottery game before but decided to buy a Wild Side instant game ticket. It was a random pick but he probably thought "What the heck, I'll play."

He said:

“I didn’t know how to play the game, so I took the ticket home and had my parents walk me through it. When [the lottery office] confirmed it really was a $500,000 winner, we were in disbelief. I knew right then that this money was about to change my life.”

 

So off to the Michigan Lottery he went and was signing papers and going through documentation with them on his 21st birthday.

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Certainly, it's no biggie signing a little paperwork when you’ve just won $500K on your first try!

The winning guy wants to remain anonymous but will be forever grateful.

He's surely counting his blessings, and plans to study abroad with his winnings and save the rest.

Hey, your parents helped you play that game. Don't they deserve a little bit of a cash thank you?

LOOK: The largest lottery jackpots in US history

Stacker compiled a list of the 15 largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history from news reports and lottery press releases. [This list is current as of July 25, 2023.]

Gallery Credit: Chandler Friedman