Michigan Man Dies With Winning Lottery Ticket In Pocket

A Michigan man by the name of Greg Jarvis, unfortunately, passed away with a winning KENO lottery ticket in his pocket. This is probably one of the saddest stories I've read about in a while. Just the potential that this man could've done with that cash brings a tear to my eye.

Dawn Talaski used to hang out with Greg Jarvis at the Blue Water Inn, a bar she owns in Caseville.

Earlier this month, Greg hit it big on a KENO ticket at the bar to the tune of $45,000.

“Very nice guy, he was here every day,” Talaski told WJRT-TV. “Somebody said someone just won (KENO) and he said, ‘Great,’ and someone asked him, ‘Was it you?’ and it was, so he was super excited.”

When he went to cash it in, he found out he needed some ID and couldn't locate his social security card. So he went and filed to get a new one sent to him, and then tragedy struck.

When Greg's boss showed up at the Blue Water and mentioned he hadn't shown up for work, Talaksi became concerned and wondered aloud if something bad had happened to him. It had.

Jarvis apparently slipped while trying to tie up his boat one night, hit his head, and fell into the Bay. His body washed up a few days later, with his winning KENO ticket still in his pocket.

“He was planning to take that money and go see his sister and his dad in North Carolina,” Talaski says.

The winnings will be passed on to his next of kin. Jarvis was only 57 years old.