Lonnie Griffin, an electrician’s apprentice from Detroit, walked into a store to check on the Daily 4 number. He ended up speechless when he saw that he had matched the five white ball numbers in the August 8, Powerball drawing!

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I got the numbers on a piece of paper and went out to my car to check them again.” The lucky winner tried to contact his mother and sister, but could only reach his step-father, so he shared the good news. However, Griffin was mistaken about his win. He believed he had won $100,000, until family members called him back to tell him the prize was $1,000,000!  

“He was so calm when we told him he had won $1,000,000 that I asked him what was wrong,” said his sister.

Griffin plans to invest most of the money, but will also pay off some debts and take a trip with his girlfriend.

The winning ticket was sold at 7-Eleven #29008 at 8834 Telegraph Rd. in Redford.

Over 95 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers. In fiscal year 2011, the contribution to schools was over $727.3 million. Since its inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed over $16 billion to education in Michigan. 

For information on all Lottery games, please visit the Lottery’s Web site at   www.michiganlottery.com. 

“The Michigan Lottery. All across the state good things happen.”

Contact:  Andi Brancato, PR Director  517-335-5648
Agency:  Michigan Lottery Public Relations