Markelle Burke wasn’t sure if she should cry or throw up after winning $300,000 playing Caesars Jackpot.
A Wexford County woman wasn’t sure if she was going to cry or throw up after winning $300,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Caesars® Jackpot instant game.
Markelle Burke, of Buckley, won the big prize with a ticket she and her husband bought at the Pantry Shelf, located at 5840 Highway 31 in Grawn. Buckley is about 20 miles south of Traverse City.
“Scratching off the ticket and seeing ‘$300,000’ was so amazing,” said the 45-yearl-old Burke. “My husband and I bought the ticket Wednesday morning on our way in to work. Needless to say, it was hard to focus on working.”
Burke, a small business owner, had to wait for employees to come into her store before she could head to Lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim her prize.
“As soon as the store was staffed enough, I got in the car with my daughter and her friend to head to Lansing,” said Burke. “On the way here, my daughter said she wants to go to the Great Wolf Lodge so that’s the first thing we’ll do with this money.”
Markelle Burke’s winning ticket.
In addition to a family trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, Burke plans to pay off some debt, put an addition on her family’s home, and buy a new camper.
Players have won more than $6 million playing Caesars Jackpot, which launched in February. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $300,000. More than $8 million in prizes remain, including one $300,000 top prize, and eight $1,000 prizes.
The Caesars Jackpot game also offers players a second chance opportunity to win one of 10 all-expense paid trips to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Each trip will include roundtrip airfare and deluxe hotel accommodations for two at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for five days and four nights, and $1,000 of spending money. To enter the second chance drawing, players should visit MichiganLottery.com/Caesars to enter their non-winning Caesars Jackpot tickets. There is no limit on the number of tickets a player may enter. The deadline to enter the second chance contest is May 23.
Lottery instant games may be purchased at 11,000 retailers across the state.
