An Oakland County woman learned she had won a $1 million Powerball prize from the Michigan Lottery in the most unlikely of places: Facebook.
Jennifer Vackaro, of White Lake, matched the five white balls in the March 2 drawing to win the big prize: 03-18-27-36-53. She bought her winning ticket at Andale Mexican Grill & Cantina, located at 4835 Carroll Lake Road in Commerce Township.
“My fiancé and I were at Andale, and he was playing Club Keno, so I decided to play Powerball,” said Vackaro. “Usually I play easy pick numbers, but since we were just hanging out having a drink, I decided to take the time to pick my own numbers.
“The next morning, I was scrolling Facebook and saw a post about a winning Powerball ticket that was sold at Andale. The post had the winning numbers and I recognized them right away. I scanned my ticket on the Lottery app and when $1 million came up on the screen with confetti, I couldn’t stop shaking! I called my daughters and my fiancé to tell them the good news.
“I have been in a complete fog the last few days. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep because I’ve been so nervous and excited!”
Vackaro, 50, visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to take her family on a trip and then save the remainder.
The Powerball jackpot stands at $532 million for tonight’s drawing. The cash option for the jackpot is $260.1 million. If a player wins tonight’s jackpot, it would be the second Powerball jackpot won this year.
The Powerball jackpot was last won in January when one ticket purchased in Michigan won the $842.2 million jackpot. The winning ticket was purchased at the Food Castle of Grand Blanc, located at 3035 East Grand Blanc Road in Grand Blanc. The huge jackpot has yet to be claimed. The lucky winner should contact the Lottery’s Player Relations Division at 844-917-6325 to set up an appointment to claim their prize.
Lottery retailers throughout the state are selling Powerball tickets until 9:45 p.m. tonight. Tickets also may be purchased online at MichiganLottery.com.
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.
