A Michigan man recently scanned his Powerball tickets to see if he had any winners.
He then got very confused, as the machine was telling him to file a claim at the Michigan Lottery office, which he had never seen that message before. It worked, as the man from Jackson ended up winning $150,000 on the Powerball ticket.
The winning ticket
Brian Ellsworth, 65, recently claimed his prize at lottery headquarters. He told lottery officials:
I got out of work early, so I stopped at the store on my way home and purchased a few Powerball tickets for the drawing that night.
That night happened to be the April 3 drawing, and Ellsworth matched four of the white balls and the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. He also played the Power Play, which multiplied the prize to $150,000.
For the April 3 drawing, the winning white ball numbers were 11, 38, 41, 62, and 65, and the Powerball number was 15.
Ellsworth bought the winning ticket at the Save Time store, located at 2045 East South Street in Jackson.
Not sure what it meant
After purchasing his Powerball tickets, Ellsworth waited a few days before he even knew he won any money. He told lottery officials:
When I took the tickets to the store a few days later to check them, one of them came up with a message to file a claim at the lottery office. I had never seen that message before, so I wasn't sure what it meant. I scanned it a few more times and then finally asked the clerk what was going on. She scanned the ticket and told me I was a big winner!
Ellsworth finally made his way to the lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he said he plans on buying a travel trailer, doing some home repairs, and then saving the rest. He said:
It has been the longest week of my life holding onto this ticket, so I feel giddy to be at the lottery office claiming my prize! Winning is going to make life easier for me and my wife.
Who benefits from the Michigan Lottery?
While Ellsworth won $150,000 from the Michigan Lottery, there are other winners that come from people playing the lottery. Each lottery purchase in the state helps benefit K-12 education, local businesses, and companies that employ Michigan residents.
For fiscal year 2023, the Michigan Lottery helped contribute more than $1.3 billion to the state of Michigan School Aid Fund.
Let's take a closer look at where the money spent on lottery in Michigan went for FY23. For every $1 spent on lottery:
- 61 cents went to prizes
- 27 cents went to the School Aid Fund
- 9 cents went to retailer and vendor commissions
- 3 cents funded lottery operations.
For the retailer and vendor commissions, there are about 10,500 businesses throughout the state that earn these commissions on the sale of lottery products as licensed retailers. In the last decade, there have been more than $2.8 billion in sales commissions and bonuses paid out to these retailers.
Enjoy playing the Michigan Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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