Otsego County Woman Wins $1 Million Playing Michigan Lottery’s Cashword Times 20 Instant Game

Posted on November 22, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Bonnie Hitchings (right) and her husband Charles Hitchings. A retailer selling out of an Otsego County woman’s favorite game led her to trying a new game and winning a $1 million prize playing the Michigan Lottery’s Cashword Times 20 instant game.

Bonnie Hitchings, of Johannesburg, bought her winning ticket at the Shell gas station, located at 1025 West Main Street in Gaylord. Johannesburg is about 12 miles southwest of Gaylord.

“I stopped at the gas station to buy a few Daily 4 tickets,” said Hitchings. “When I was checking out, I asked for the Win $100, $200 or $500 ticket, but they were sold out, so I got a Cashword Times 20 ticket instead. I scratched the barcode and scanned the ticket three times. I kept getting a message to file a claim at the lottery office, so I assumed their scanner was broken and went out to my car to scan it on the Lottery app.

“When I scanned the ticket, confetti came up on the screen with a message saying I won $1 million. I went back into the store to show the worker and everyone in the store was so excited. Everywhere I go lately I have people stopping to congratulate me. It’s a crazy and exciting feeling!”

Hitchings, 67, recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. She chose to receive her prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $634,000 rather than annuity payments for the full amount. With her winnings, she plans to take a trip to Alaska and invest.

Players have won more than $77 million playing Cashword Times 20, which launched in Sept. 2022. Each $20 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $20 up to $1 million. More than $19 million in prizes remain, including one $1 million top prize, 16 $5,000 prizes, and 217 $1,000 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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Michigan Lottery Offices Closed in Observance of Thanksgiving

Posted on November 22, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Happy Thanksgiving graphicIn observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Michigan Lottery headquarters in Lansing and all Lottery regional offices located in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Livonia, Saginaw, and Sterling Heights will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23 and 24.

All regularly scheduled drawings will take place on Thursday and Friday.

The bank claim centers that the Michigan Lottery has teamed up with may have office hours on Thursday and Friday, however, they will not be able to process claims, because the Lottery offices will be closed.

All Lottery offices will reopen on Monday at 7:45 a.m.

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Illinois Man Wins $25,000 a Year for Life from the Michigan Lottery Playing Lucky For Life

Posted on November 21, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Winning ticketA lucky mistake led to a big payday for an Illinois man who won $25,000 a year for life playing Lucky For Life.

Michael Sopejstal, 60, won the big prize when his Lucky For Life ticket matched the five white balls drawn on Sept. 17: 11-15-17-24-48. He bought his winning ticket at the GoLo gas station, located at 102 West Buffalo Street in New Buffalo.

“I come to Michigan every few weeks to eat at my favorite restaurant and I always get a Lucky for Life ticket for 10 or 20 draws while I’m here,” said Sopejstal. “I asked the retailer for a ticket for 10 draws, but he accidentally printed a ticket with 10 lines for one draw, but I told him I still wanted it.

“I checked my ticket one morning and saw that I had won $25,000 a year for life. I immediately started thinking about all the things I could do with the money and whether I wanted to take the lump sum or annuity option. It was an amazing feeling!”

Sopejstal visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim his prize. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000, rather than annuity payments of $25,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater. With his winnings, he plans to travel and then save the remainder.

For just $2 per play, Lucky For Life gives Lottery players a chance to win prizes ranging from $3 to a lifetime of cash. To win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life, players must match all five winning numbers ranging from 1 to 48, plus one Lucky Ball ranging from 1 to 18. Players who match all five winning numbers, but not the Lucky Ball, will win $25,000 a year for life. Drawings take place at 10:38 p.m. seven days-a-week. Tickets may be purchased at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com.

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

Posted on November 21, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Kathleen Sexton holding $2,000 Excellence in Education checkAn Ottawa County educator known for pouring her heart and soul into her career has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Kathleen Sexton, teaches fourth grade at Robinson Elementary School. The school is part of Grand Haven 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 Sexton will air this evening.

Sexton says her desire to be someone that could help guide young learners to discover their true potential led her to a career in education.

“My draw to education has always been the desire to be someone that could help guide young learners to discover their own true potential. Being able to give them the strategies and tools needed to become lifelong learners in not only academics, but out in the world in general is a privilege and joy. I see myself as more of a coach in their learning journey, guiding and inspiring them to be the best versions of themselves.

“I like to tell my students that I am like their training wheels through school life. There is no better feeling than supporting them as they sometimes wobble through learning, begin to pick up speed, and then go off smoothly peddling along with a great big smile and sense of accomplishment. If they happen to get unsteady or fall, I will be there to help them get back on track.”

Sexton says her favorite activity to do with students is play games.

“We love to play all sorts of games in our class. We enjoy classic board games and have board game stations. We play Around the World, Quiet Ball, Pigs, Bump It games, and High and Low. The students love when they get to play review games for tests on Kahoot or Blooket online games. I also like brining in games that I enjoy with my family. Playing games helps us develop a close classroom community and are a great way to develop social skills.”

Sexton was nominated for the award by a family member.

“Kathleen pours her heart and soul into her career. She brought The Mileage Club to her school, encouraging kids to get out and walk every single day. She writes and directs plays for her students to perform for their families, teaches her students how to do flash mob dances, and teaches her kids the love of reading by using accents and different voices to bring a story to life.

“When COVID-19 hit, she courageously took on remote learning. Technology was not her strong point, yet she mastered it and implemented this new way of learning for her students. Being a teacher has never been easy and COVID-19 had a big impact on education. Through it all, her focus was and will always be on her students, their families, and doing all she can to enrich their lives.”

Sexton earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University and a master’s degree from Grand Valley State University. She has been an educator for 24 years, all in her 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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Lucky Spot: Two Players Win Big on Tickets Bought at Family Fare in Grand Rapids

Posted on November 20, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Winning Fire & Ice Cashword ticketMichigan Lottery players may have found a new lucky spot to buy lottery tickets in Grand Rapids.

While it’s impossible to predict when a retailer may sell a big winner, the Family Fare Quick Stop, located at 2755 Lake Michigan Drive NW in Grand Rapids, has been especially lucky for players in October and November selling two big winners.

In October, a Kent County man, who chose to remain anonymous, won $300,000 playing the Lottery’s Fire & Ice Cashword game.

“I scratched the ticket when I got in my truck. When I revealed the sixth red word, I checked the ticket over at least 10 times before taking it back into the store and scanning it,” the player said when claiming his prize. “When the ‘file a claim’ message came up on the Lottery machine, I walked back to my truck, locked the doors, and drove straight home to put the ticket in a safe spot.

“I’ve always dreamed about what I would do if I won a large Lottery prize, so it feels like a dream that it happened! I’m still having a hard time believing it’s real.”

This month, Sonia McCarthy, of Grand Rapids, won $25,000 a year for life playing Lucky for Life hours after telling her parents it was her lucky game.

Winning Lucky for Life ticket“I told my parents one night how I have been quite lucky on the Lucky for Life game, so I was going to continue playing it,” said McCarthy. “I checked my ticket the next morning and was totally floored when I saw I won $25,000 a year for life! It’s almost like I spoke it into existence since I won the night I told my parents it was my lucky game.

“It feels incredible to win! You always hope it will happen to you, but you never expect it to, so it is an amazing feeling!”

McCarthy chose to receive her winnings as a one-time lump sum payment of $390,000, rather than annuity payments of $25,000 a year for 20 years or life, whichever is greater.

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