A Clinton County man purchased a Powerball ticket on a whim and won a $2 million prize.
Zach Birchmeier, of Fowler, matched the five white balls – 01-12-20-33-66 – in the Sept. 23 drawing to win a $1 million prize. Thanks to the Power Play, the prize was multiplied to $2 million. He bought his winning ticket online at MichiganLottery.com.
“I don’t usually play Powerball, but I decided to buy a ticket on a whim while I was online,” said Birchmeier. “After the drawing, I saw an email from the Lottery with instructions on claiming my prize. When I logged in to my account and saw $2 million pending, I was in shock!”
Birchmeier, 31, recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to build a house and invest.
“You see this happen to other people, but you never think it will happen to you, so it all still feels surreal,” said Birchmeier.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on July 19. One ticket purchased in California won the $1.08 billion jackpot. The current jackpot stands at $1.4 billion.
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.
