Kalamazoo County Man Wins $416,322 BIG CA$H Second Chance Jackpot Prize

Posted on November 13, 2023 by MI_Lottery

BIG CA$H 2nd Chance JackpotA Kalamazoo County man got the surprise of his life when he won $416,322 in the Michigan Lottery’s BIG CA$H Second Chance giveaway.

The 67-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, won $416,322 after he was selected in a random drawing that took place Oct. 11. He earned entries into the giveaway by playing the eligible BIG CA$H Second Chance Jackpot games online at MichiganLottery.com. For more information regarding eligible BIG CA$H Second Chance Jackpot games, please visit https://news.michiganlottery.com/bigcash.

“I play games online a lot, but I had no idea I was earning entries into a second chance giveaway when playing certain games,” said the player. “I saw an email from the Michigan Lottery saying I’d won a $416,322 second chance prize and I figured it was a scam email since I didn’t enter a giveaway.

“When I called the Michigan Lottery, I realized I’d been earning entries without even knowing it. I still can’t believe this is real. It is a crazy feeling to win such a large Lottery prize!”

The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his big prize. With his winnings, he plans to share with his family and then save the remainder.

Select online instant games include a second chance progressive jackpot drawing. Part of every purchase of the games funds one progressive jackpot prize which is awarded in a second chance drawing each month. Players earn one entry for every $0.50 wagered playing the eligible games. After the entry period has closed, a random drawing takes place with one jackpot winner being selected from all entries for that month.

The BIG CA$H Second Chance game launched in April 2022. Since the BIG CA$H Second Chance games launched, players have won more than $5.9 million in progressive prizes. In the last 12 months, players have won:

  • September 2023 – $416,322 progressive jackpot prize
  • August 2023 – $729,743 progressive jackpot prize
  • July 2023 – $573,617 progressive jackpot prize
  • June 2023 – $519,212 progressive jackpot prize
  • May 2023 – $559,200 progressive jackpot prize
  • April 2023 – $538,958 progressive jackpot prize
  • March 2023 – $625,162 progressive jackpot prize
  • February 2023 – $261,935 progressive jackpot prize
  • January 2023 – $403,618 progressive jackpot prize
  • December 2022 – $125,514 progressive jackpot prize
  • November 2022 – $110,689 progressive jackpot prize
  • October 2022 – $97,885 progressive jackpot prize

Entries are only valid for the entry period in which they were earned. Each month, a new drawing period begins, and the progressive jackpot is reset to $5,000. The next drawing will take place Dec. 13.

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Macomb County Man Wins $400,017 Fantasy 5 Jackpot from the Michigan Lottery

Posted on November 9, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Fantasy 5A Macomb County man said winning a $400,017 Fantasy 5 jackpot from the Michigan Lottery couldn’t have happened at a better time.

The 32-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched the winning Fantasy 5 numbers on Oct. 16 – 16-17-21-28-33 – to win the big prize. He bought his winning ticket online at MichiganLottery.com.

“I like playing all of the draw games, and I always buy my tickets online,” said the player. “I saw an email from the Lottery about claiming a prize as I was leaving work, and figured I must have won big. I went home, ate dinner, relaxed for a bit, and then finally logged in to my account to see how much I’d won. When I saw $400,017 pending, I was so happy! This prize couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay bills and then save the remainder.

Each Fantasy 5 play is only $1. For an additional $1 per play, EZmatch may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a chance to win up to $500 instantly. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Fantasy 5 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $110,000 in the nightly Double Play drawing. Fantasy 5 players select five numbers from one to 39. Players who match all five Fantasy 5 numbers drawn win a jackpot that starts at $100,000. Fantasy 5 drawings are held seven days a week at 7:29 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at a retailer or online at MichiganLottery.com until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.

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Michigan Lottery Offices Closed in Observance of Veterans Day

Posted on November 9, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Veterans Day graphic

In observance of Veterans Day, 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 Friday, Nov.10.

All regularly scheduled drawings will take place on Friday.

The bank claim centers that the Michigan Lottery has teamed up with may have office hours on Friday, however, they won’t 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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Livingston County Man Wins $1 Million Playing Michigan Lottery’s Diamonds & Pearls Instant Game

Posted on November 8, 2023 by MI_Lottery

Winning TicketA Livingston County man went from hearing wedding bells to seeing dollar signs when he won $1 million the day after his wedding playing the Michigan Lottery’s Diamond & Pearls instant game.

The 57-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at Prudenville E-Z Mart, located at 2403 West Houghton Lake Drive in Prudenville. Prudenville is about 30 miles south of Grayling.

“I bought the ticket the day after my wedding and gave it to my wife to scratch,” the player said. “When she revealed the ‘$1 MIL’ prize amount, we were in disbelief. We kept reading the instructions over and over again to make sure we really won. It was an exciting couple of days for us!”

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. He plans to invest his winnings.

Players have won more than $14 million playing Diamonds & Pearls, which launched in August. Each $10 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. More than $37 million in prizes remain, including two $1 million top prizes and 18 $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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Mecosta County Educator Wins Excellence in Education Award from the Michigan Lottery

Posted on November 7, 2023 by MI_Lottery

T.J. Klein holding $2,000 Excellence in Education checkA Mecosta County educator known for shaping young people to be their best has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, T.J. Klein, teaches high school math at Big Rapids High School. The school is part of Big Rapids 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 Klein will air this evening.

Klein says wanting to be a positive role model to students is what led him to a career in education.

“I wanted to be a positive role model for students and help them establish usable tactics for life. Teaching is very rewarding and the impact you get to make on students lasts forever.”

Klein says his favorite activities to do with students are playing math baseball and whiteboard activities.

“Playing math baseball for a test review is my favorite thing to do with my students. I also enjoy doing whiteboard activities.”

Klein was nominated for the award by a student.

“If you ask any student at Big Rapids High School, they will tell you that Coach Klein is simply the best. T.J. teaches math but has other great ways he teaches students too. Last year, he coached JV tennis and has been an assistant hockey coach for many years. Through coaching, he has connected with many students. He builds them up, encourages them, and helps them through the struggles high school can bring.

“You will rarely find T.J. alone. He comes in early in the morning to help students who need extra help. At lunch, you will find T.J. with kids in his classroom playing ping pong or just hanging out. He is patient, kind, selfless, and compassionate, while still holding his students accountable. He is not only concerned about his students’ academics but shaping young people to be their best.”

Klein earned a bachelor’s degree from Ferris State University and a master’s degree from Western Governors University. He has been an educator for eight years, all 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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