A Macomb County man who “hoped and prayed” to be selected as a contestant on The Big Spin show has won a $1 million prize.
Allen Burbary, 64, won the big prize after spinning the prize wheel on The Big Spin show hosted by Detroit basketball champion, John Salley. Burbary was selected to participate in the show after entering codes from non-winning The Big Spin tickets online.
“I entered several non-winning tickets into the second chance game and then hoped and prayed I would be selected as a contestant,” said Burbary. “When the wheel stopped spinning, I thought it landed on $100,000 and I was excited to win that amount. It wasn’t until John Salley said $1 million that I looked at the wheel again and realized that I’d won $1 million. I couldn’t believe it!”
Burbary chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $693,000 rather than 30 annuity payments for the full amount. With his winnings, he plans to pay bills and save the remainder for retirement.
Burbary, of Sterling Heights, was one of five players selected for The Big Spin show in a random drawing. Entries are still being accepted into The Big Spin second chance drawing. Players may enter non-winning The Big Spin tickets at www.MIBigSpin.com for a chance to appear on the televised game show. Ten additional players will be selected to appear on the Lottery’s The Big Spin televised events. The two remaining The Big Spin second chance drawings are scheduled to take place on Dec. 28 and March 1.
Each player selected will spin The Big Spin wheel and have a chance to win up to $2 million. All the players who spin The Big Spin wheel are guaranteed to win at least $100,000.
The Big Spin televised events will air shortly after evening Lottery drawings. Players may submit non-winning The Big Spin ticket Spin Codes at www.MIBigSpin.com. By entering codes, players will earn entries for the drawings for the opportunity to appear on television and spin the big wheel.
Each $10 The Big Spin ticket offers players a chance to instantly win prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. Players have won more than $8 million playing The Big Spin which launched in September. More than $62 million in prizes remain, including three $1 million top prizes, four $10,000 prizes, and 129 $1,000 prizes.
In 2021, Lottery players won more than $1.8 billion playing instant games. Instant games may be purchased at the Lottery’s 10,500 retailers across the state.
