BYRON CENTER, Mich. (WWJ) – This could be your chance to bid on something you’d never be able to buy.

A winning Michigan Lottery “Cash For Life” ticket will go up for auction online later this week because the winner filed for bankruptcy and can’t keep it.

Duane Mingerink, president of Repocast.com in Byron Center, Michigan, which is handling the auction, says the winner will receive $1,000 a month as long as the ticket’s original owner lives.

The catch: The man is already 73 years old and the opening bid for the ticket is $30,000.

“Basically, when you look at it, it’s a little big like gambling,” Mingerink told WWJ Newsradio 950’s Beth Fisher. “You know, the man could live a month, he could live 20 years! I mean, that’s the mystery behind it all.”

Mingerink said there’s a lot of interest in the auction, which has been approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge.

“There’s been many, many hundreds of phone calls on it,” he said. “…It’s a very unique thing that I’m not sure has ever been sold on an auction before — at least that I know of.”

Mingerink said potential bidders can rest assured that this is legit.

“The opening bid is set by the bankruptcy trustee which has a court document attached on the auction here,” Mingerink said. “We have, with the auction item…all the court documents attached, so that anybody wanting to bid on these items can review all these public court documents, which are signed by the judge.”

The online auction, which is open to the public, begins Thursday, Jan. 6., at 8 a.m. at Repocast.com. Maxmium bids may be placed now at this link.