In a tragic turn of events, a Michigan lottery winner died before he could cash in. In fact, the man was found with the winning ticket still in his pocket.
Gregory Jarvi was 57 years old at the time of his death. He won the $45,000 jackpot a week and a half ago. His body was discovered after it washed up on a beach in Caseville, along Saginaw Bay, on Friday.
Jarvis had attempted to cash his ticket before his death. However, he was turned away after he didn’t have a Social Security card that was in “good shape,” local news affiliate ABC12 reported.
According to the Michigan Lottery Commission, a Social Security card and photo identification are required for winnings over $600 in the state of Michigan.
Jarvis was staying at the inn in September when he played the Michigan Lottery game Club Keno. The lottery game is a draw-style game wherein a player wagers an amount between $1 and $20.
Club Keno numbers are drawn “every few minutes” from six in the morning until just before two in the morning. The jackpot size for the game frequently increases over time. Jarvis won $45,000 by matching eight of eight spots hitting the jackpot at the high point of the night.
Blue Water Inn owner Dawn Talaski told ABC 12 that Jarvis frequently visited the Inn in Caseville. She said that Jarvis was a “very nice guy, he was here every day.”
She also told the outlet that he was back at Blue Water Inn later the same month. As far as she knew he had not claimed the $45,000 jackpot yet. Talaski said the following day he didn’t come into the Inn “sometimes he’s up north working, he wasn’t here all week and we thought, something is wrong.”
However, Jarvis was not gone for work. Instead, a few days later the man’s body was found near his boat.
“We are thinking that he was tying up his boat, slipped and fell, hit his head, and that’s where he ended up in the water, no foul play suspected,” Caseville Police Chief Kyle Romzek explained.
During the investigation, the Police found the winning lottery ticket which made them a little suspicious. “At first, we were concerned about it, but after the autopsy, and we interviewed people at the bar, he was well-liked around here, he was nice guy, that took it off the table,” says Romzek.
The winning ticket has now been given to Jarvis’s relatives.
Watch the video report below for more details:
