The shock of winning a $1.3 million jackpot playing the Michigan Lottery’s Veterans Day 50/50 Raffle hasn’t worn off for a Livonia woman.
The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, won the huge prize when her Veterans Day 50/50 Raffle number – 0182905 – was drawn Thursday. Her winning ticket was bought at the Wine Castle, located at 33415 7 Mile Road in Livonia.
“This still doesn’t even seem real,” said the player. “My husband and I have played the Lottery for years, but you never really expect to win anything like this.
“My husband actually found out we had won before I did. He had the ticket with him at work and checked for the numbers online. When he saw the winning ticket was purchased at the Wine Castle in Livonia, he called me and told me to check online to verify what he was seeing.”
A computer problem made for a few tense moments while the player tried to get online to visit the Lottery’s website.
“Our power went out the night before the drawing and I couldn’t get our computer to turn on,” said the player. “Once I finally got to the website, I started yelling and my sons came rushing into the room asking what was wrong. All I could say is: ‘We won $1 million dollars!’”
Once her husband returned home from work with her winning ticket, the player put it in a special hiding spot with the family’s other valuables. Along with her husband, she visited Lottery headquarters on Friday to claim the jackpot.
With her winnings, the player plans to buy a bigger house so that she can take care of her dad, and pay for her sons’ college educations.
“We keep checking the numbers to make sure this isn’t a dream that we are going to wake up from,” said the player. “Now that we’re in Lansing and we’ve gotten the check it’s starting to sink in, but I still keep wondering: ‘Is this really happening to us?’
“I’m so thankful and blessed to have won this prize and it’s going to help me take care of my parents and sons for a longtime to come,” she said.
The Lottery teamed up with the National Guard Association of Michigan (NGAM) for the Veterans Day 50/50 Raffle. A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to NGAM. NGAM will receive more than $75,000 to support its efforts to help Michigan veterans and their families.
