Three members of the Rak Pack lottery club holding their $1 million checks. Diane Quist (left), Jade Rakowicz (middle), Deborah Gruschow (right)
An Oakland County lottery club claimed their $1 million Powerball prize just weeks before the prize was set to expire.
The five-person Rak Pack lottery club matched the five white balls in the Oct. 29, 2022, drawing to win the big prize: 19-31-40-46-57. They bought their winning ticket at the Shell gas station, located at 18913 LaPorte Road in New Buffalo.
“A few members of our family threw in money and bought several Powerball tickets since the jackpot was at $825 million,” said the club’s representative, Gregory Rakowicz. “I checked our tickets the morning after the drawing over a cup of coffee. When I saw we matched five numbers for a $1 million prize, I started shaking. I kept checking the numbers on our ticket and the winning numbers to make sure I was seeing things right.
“I called the other club members to tell them what we won, but it took some of them a few hours to call me back. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to tell them, so it was hard to be patient while I waited for them to call me!”
The club recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the prize. With their winnings, they plan to complete home improvements, pay student loans, and save.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on July 19. One ticket bought in California won the $1.08 billion jackpot. The current jackpot stands at $925 million.
Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of $2 million may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.
The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and may be watched live online at: http://www.powerball.com. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
