Man dies with $62,000 Lotto ticket in his wallet

A man who won $45,000 ($A62,460) playing the lottery has been found dead with the winning ticket still in his wallet.

On September 13, 57-year-old Gregory Jarvis was playing a Club Keno game at the Blue Water Inn in Caseville, Michigan, when he hit the jackpot.

"This guy just won the jack at the Blue Water!! Congratulations Greg," the Inn wrote on Facebook, along with a photo of Mr Jarvis smiling and holding his ticket.

However, according to local news station WJRT, Mr Jarvis tried to cash in his winnings, but couldn't due to a problem with his social security card.

The owner of the Blue Water Inn, Dawn Talaski, told the news station Mr Jarvis still hadn't cashed in his prize when he was at the Inn again on September 19, buying rounds of drinks for other patrons.

However, when Mr Jarvis left the Inn that night, it was the last time anyone saw him.

Ms Talaski said she knew something was wrong when he didn't come into the Inn on he 20th. Three days later on the 22nd, Ms Jarvis's boss visited the Inn and said the 57-year-old hadn't shown up to work.

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On Friday, police found Mr Jarvis's body after it washed ashore next to his boat, WJRT reported.

Caseville Police Chief Kyle Romzek told WJRT it is believed Mr Jarvis slipped, fell and hit his head while tying up his boat and no foul play was suspected.

Police said they did investigate if the large sum of money had anything to do with his death.

"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,” Chief Romzek told WJRT.

The autopsy reportedly showed Mr Jarvis's head injuries were consistent with hitting his head on the boat before he drowned.

Ms Talaski said Mr Jarvis was going to use the money to go see his sister and dad in north Carolina. His relatives now have the winning ticket.

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