Isabella County Educator Wins Excellence in Education Award from the Michigan Lottery

Posted on December 12, 2023 by MI_Lottery

John Klak holding $2,000 Excellence in Education checkAn Isabella County educator known for going above and beyond for his students and school has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, John Klak, is a high school English and theatre teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School. The school is part of Mt. Pleasant Public Schools.

The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence In Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year.

Winners of the weekly award receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of the weekly award winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.

Each winner also is featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, FOX 47 in Lansing, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City. The news segment featuring Klak will air this evening.

Klak says coming from a family of educators led him to a career in education.

“I come from a family of educators, so education was always a career option that was in front of me. Teaching theater allows me to do everything that I love: teaching, directing, designing, building, acting, and storytelling.”

Klak says his students are what drives him to continue teaching and keeps him going.

“The kids keep me coming to school every day. When I can foster a talent and create a home for a young person, I know that I am able to have a positive impact on them that will last a lifetime.”

Klak was nominated for the award by a friend.

“John Klak has gone above and beyond for his students and the high school. He teaches tenth grade honors English, two theater classes, and directs and produces a fall play and a spring musical. John also runs all sound audio and visuals for events at the school. He spends countless hours after school to prepare for events. Many of his students have gone on to pursue careers in theater, with many in New York and other cities.”

Klak earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Central Michigan University. He has been an educator for 32 years, the last 29 years in his current position.

Excellence in Education award nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Excellence – Their work consistently helps students and/or their schools or school districts advance to higher levels of academic achievement.
  • Dedication – They consistently go above and beyond expectations to help students succeed.
  • Inspiration – Their work inspires others around them to exceed expectations either academically or professionally.
  • Leadership – They demonstrate clear leadership skills in their positions with their school or school districts.
  • Effectiveness – The nominee’s work has clear and positive results on the educational advancement of students within the school or school district.
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Isabella County Man Wins $2 Million Playing Michigan Lottery’s Money Instant Game

Posted on December 11, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Winning TicketAn Isabella County man drove around with what he thought was a non-winning Money ticket for four months before realizing it was a $2 million winning ticket.

The 29-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at Shepherd E-Z Mart, located at 550 East Wright Avenue in Shepherd. Shepherd is about 10 miles southeast of Mount Pleasant.

“Every so often I will stop and buy an instant ticket after work,” the player said. “About four months ago, I bought this Money ticket, but I didn’t see any winnings on it when I scratched it, so I threw it in my center console with some other non-winning tickets.

“About a week ago, my wife gave me a few tickets to take to the store and check, so I grabbed the tickets in my center console to double check. When I scanned the Money ticket, I got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office. I went back out to my truck to look the ticket over and realized I’d matched number 13. When I revealed the ‘$2 MIL’ symbol underneath, I was speechless. It is a miracle this ticket didn’t end up in the trash!”

The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $1.3 million, rather than annuity payments for the full amount. He plans to invest his winnings.

“I don’t plan on making any big purchases with the money, but rather use it as a nice financial cushion for our family,” the player said.

Players have won more than $47 million playing Money, which launched in March. Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $2 million. More than $61 million in prizes remain, including two $2 million top prizes, 16 $10,000 prizes, and 58 $5,000 prizes.

In 2022, Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion playing instant games.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at any of the 10,500 retailers across the state.

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Newaygo County Man Wins $1 Million Playing Michigan Lottery’s $1,000,000 Extravaganza Instant Game

Posted on December 8, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Winning TicketA Newaygo County man had to get his blood pressure checked when he won $1 million playing the Michigan Lottery’s $1,000,000 Extravaganza instant game!

The 55-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at the Wesco gas station, located at 136 South Maple in Grant. Grant is about 30 miles north of Grand Rapids.

“I play lottery games here and there,” the player said. “I scratched my $1,000,000 Extravaganza ticket right after purchasing it, and when I saw I won $1 million, I thought I was having a heart attack! I went to my mom’s house to show her the ticket and when I walked in the door, she told me to sit down and took my blood pressure because I was bright red and shaking.

“Winning feels like a dream and is going to make my life a lot easier!”

The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $693,000, rather than annuity payments for the full amount. With his winnings, he plans to complete some home improvements and help others.

Players have won more than $15 million playing $1,000,000 Extravaganza, which launched in September. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. More than $39 million in prizes remain, including two $1 million top prizes, 19 $20,000 prizes, and 74 $2,000 prizes.

In 2022, Lottery players won more than $1.7 billion playing instant games.

Lottery instant games may be purchased at any of the 10,500 retailers across the state.

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Lake Orion Man Wins $160,405 Jackpot Slots Fast Cash Progressive Jackpot

Posted on December 7, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Rodd Cunningham holding $160,405 checkA Lake Orion man ‘just about lost it’ when he won a $160,405 prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Jackpot Slots Fast Cash game.

Rodd Cunningham, 49, bought his winning ticket on Nov. 27 at Old Detroit Bar and Grille, located at 741 South Lapeer Road in Lake Orion.

“I was at my local bar and bought two Fast Cash tickets,” said Cunningham. “One was a non-winning ticket, and I thought the other was too, but I didn’t have my glasses on, so I scanned them both on the app to be safe.

“When I scanned the second ticket and the prize amount of $160,405 came up on the screen, I just about lost it! Within a few minutes, everyone in the bar knew and was celebrating with me. It was such a fun experience!”

Cunningham recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the prize. With his winnings, he plans to complete some home improvements and then save the remainder.

Fast Cash games are a series of instant-win games that print from terminals at Lottery retailers. Fast Cash tickets range in price from $2 per play up to $20 per play.

Fast Cash games offer a progressive jackpot that can be won instantly. Every Fast Cash ticket gives players a chance to win all or part of the progressive jackpot.

All of the Fast Cash games feed into one jackpot, which grows with every ticket purchased. The current jackpot amount prints on each ticket, so players always know the amount of the jackpot up for grabs. The jackpot may be won at any time. As soon as the jackpot is hit, a new one starts to grow.

Available Fast Cash games are:

  • Wild Time Progressive – Each $2 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $2 up to $500 and 20 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Lucky Clover – Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $3,500 and 50 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Diamond Wild Time Progressive – Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $3,000 and 50 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Money Match – Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $4,000 and 50 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Mega Money Match – Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $5,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Double Win Wild Time Progressive – Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $6,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Jackpot Slots – Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $5,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Lucky 7s – Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $4,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot.
  • Super Lucky 7s – Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $9,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot, plus $250,000.
  • Jumbo Jackpot Slots – Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $10,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot plus $250,000.
  • Extreme Green – Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $11,000 and 100 percent of the Fast Cash progressive jackpot plus $250,000.

Fast Cash prizes never sell out and there is no waiting for a drawing as all games are played immediately.

Fast Cash games may be purchased at any of the 10,500 retailers across the state.

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Oakland County Woman Wins $150,000 Playing the Michigan Lottery’s Magic Money Ride Instant Game Online

Posted on December 6, 2023 by MI_Lottery


An Oakland County woman is still in disbelief after winning $150,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Magic Money Ride instant game online.

“I play Magic Money Ride and some of the other online games a lot,” said the 41-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous. “When the prize amount of $150,000 came up on the screen, I thought it was a joke and kept yelling: ‘No way!’ I called my husband to tell him what I’d won, and he didn’t believe it either.

“Once I got an email about claiming my prize, it started to sink in a little bit, but I am still in disbelief. I don’t think it is going to fully hit me until I have the money in the bank.”

The lucky player visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim her big prize. With her winnings, she plans to take a vacation, pay bills, and then save the remainder.

“I knew what the top prize was on the Magic Money Ride game when I started playing it, but I never imagined I would actually win it, so it feels surreal!”

Michigan Lottery players have a chance to win up to $2.1 million instantly playing online. Players also may win prizes ranging from $1 up to multimillion-dollar jackpots playing Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, Lotto 47, and Fantasy 5 online. Through its online platform, the Lottery offers players more than 200 different games with plays ranging in price from 5 cents to $50.

More than 1 million players have registered to play the Lottery’s online games, which were launched in 2014. For more information or to play online, visit https://news.michiganlottery.com/OnlineGames.

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