A conversation in line at the store led to a Detroit woman playing Powerball for the first time and winning a $1 million prize!

“I was talking to a guy in line at the store and he was telling me about the Powerball game and he bought a ticket, so I told the cashier to give me one too,” said Sharonda Blunt, 44. “A few days later, I was with my family and my aunt mentioned that a $1 million Powerball prize was won at the CVS in Grosse Pointe. It got me thinking, so I took out my ticket and had her read off the winning numbers.

“When she read five of my numbers, I grabbed her phone to see for myself and then started screaming and hollering when I saw I won $1 million! Winning a prize like this is truly a blessing.”

“Beginners luck proved true for Sharonda Blunt who purchased her first Powerball ticket ever after hearing about the game while in line at the store and then won a $1 million prize!” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “The prize was won during the recent Powerball jackpot run where the jackpot reached a staggering $1.78 billion. During the jackpot run, Michigan Lottery players won more than $12.5 million in prizes.”

Blunt matched the five white balls in the Sept. 1 drawing to win the big prize: 08-23-25-40-53. She bought her winning ticket at the CVS, located at 18585 East Warren Avenue in Grosse Pointe.

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.