Seeing a $2 million pending Mega Millions prize in her online Michigan Lottery account had a Saginaw County woman thinking: “That’s not right.”
Rachel Frye, 36, of Freeland, matched the five white balls in the Aug. 4 drawing to win $1 million: 11-30-45-52-56. Thanks to the Megaplier, her prize was multiplied to $2 million. She bought her winning ticket online at MichiganLottery.com.
“I play Mega Millions online pretty often,” said Frye. “When I woke up the morning after the drawing, I checked my Lottery account on my phone. When I saw that I had a pending balance of $2 million, all I could think was: ‘That’s not right!’
“I closed my app and checked my email. When I saw the email from Lottery saying I had won a prize and to check my account, I knew it must be real! I rolled over and started shaking my husband to wake him up and stuck my phone in his face screaming ‘Look at this! Look at this!’”
Frye recently visited headquarters to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to pay off student loans, setup college funds for her children, and then save the remainder.
“Winning this prize is incredible and give’s my family some financial comfort,” Frye said.
Frye won her big prize during the recent record-setting Mega Millions jackpot run. The $1.602 billion Mega Millions jackpot was won Aug. 8 with a single jackpot-winning ticket sold in Florida. After 32 drawings, the jackpot run ended as the highest Mega Millions jackpot and second largest jackpot prize in U.S. history.
Mega Millions drawings take place each Tuesday and Friday evening. Each Mega Millions play is only $2. For an additional $1 per play, players have the opportunity to add a “Megaplier” that can multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to five times. Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A lucky Michigan Lottery player is a millionaire after winning a Lotto 47 jackpot worth $8.75 million Saturday night.
One ticket matched the winning Lotto 47 numbers drawn Saturday: 07-16-18-27-39-40. The winning ticket was bought at Paris Spirits and Wine, located at 2871 East Paris Southeast in Kentwood. Kentwood is about 10 miles southeast of Grand Rapids.
This is the third time the Lotto 47 jackpot has been won in 2023. The Lotto 47 jackpot was last won on April 1 when an Oakland County man won a $4.38 million jackpot.
The $8.75 million jackpot is the ninth largest Lotto 47 jackpot ever won. In November 2020, a $32.3 million Lotto 47 jackpot was won by two lucky players in Ionia and Oakland counties. That jackpot holds the record for the largest Lotto 47 jackpot ever won.
The lucky player should contact the Lottery’s Player Relations division at 844-887-6836, option 2 to setup an appointment to claim their prize. Lotto 47 tickets are valid for one year from the date of the drawing.
Each Lotto 47 play is only $1. Players select six numbers from one to 47 for a chance to win a jackpot starting at $1 million and that grows until someone wins it. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Lotto 47 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $1.5 million in the nightly Double Play drawing. For an additional $1 per game, players may add EZMatch to their ticket for a chance to win up to $500 instantly. Lotto 47 drawings take place on Wednesday and Saturday 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.
A Wayne County woman had to clean her glasses after scratching off a $1,000 Large ticket and winning $1 million!
The 69-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought her winning ticket at the 7 Mile and Tel Mini Mart, located at 23540 West 7 Mile Road in Detroit.
“I usually play the Ruby Red Wild Time game, but I hadn’t been having the best luck on it,” said the player. “I decided to try a new game and picked the $1,000 Large game.
“I scratched the ticket when I got home, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I took my glasses off to clean them because I thought for sure I was misreading the ticket. When I put them back on and I looked the ticket over again, my eyes filled with tears of joy!”
The lucky player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. She chose to receive her prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $693,000, rather than annuity payments for the full amount.
Players have won more than $15 million playing $1,000 Large, which launched in in May. 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 2,581 $1,000.
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.
The Michigan Lottery is celebrating 10 years of recognizing outstanding educators with the 2023-24 Excellence In Education awards. During the program’s 10 years, the Michigan Lottery has recognized more than 300 public-school educators across Michigan and highlighted the impact they have in their respective communities.
Nominations are currently open, and parents, students, school staff members, and others are encouraged to nominate outstanding public-school educators for awards. All public-school employees may be nominated for the awards, which recognize educators who go “above and beyond” to make a difference in the lives of children. To nominate a public-school educator, go to https://www.michiganlottery.com/excellence-in-education.
“Public-school educators play a critical role in our students’ lives by serving as role models, offering encouragement and motivation, and teaching critical skills that prepare Michigan’s students for future success,” said Acting Lottery Commissioner, Jessica Weare. “The Lottery’s Excellence in Education awards shine a light on dedicated educators who go above and beyond for their students and inspire them to reach their full potential.”
The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence in Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year.
One outstanding educator will be selected each week and will receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of these weekly award winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Winners of the weekly award are 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 winner of the 2023 Educator of the Year award was Kathryn Kluzak, a kindergarten teacher at Robert L. Green Elementary in East Lansing.
Hundreds of educators were nominated during the 2022-23 school year, which was the ninth year of the Excellence in Education awards program. Thirty-four of these nominees, including Kluzak, were selected to win a weekly award.
Previous winners of the Educator of the Year award:
2022 – Spencer Vanderheide, a high school teacher with Kenowa Hills High School in Grand Rapids.
2021 – Janice Smith, a school social worker at Fisher Magnet Lower Academy in Detroit.
2020 – Megan Sidge, an Autism Spectrum Disorder teacher at Hickory Woods Elementary in Walled Lake.
2019 – Stewart Kieliszewski, an Earth science, biology, mechatronics, and media teacher for eighth through 12 graders at the Ubly Community Schools.
2018 – Kerri Moccio, a first-grade literacy intervention specialist at Bedford Elementary School in Dearborn Heights.
2017 – Linda Holzwarth, a social studies teacher at Portage West Middle School in Portage.
2016 – Daniel Carr, a Spanish and sports marketing teacher at Waverly High School in Lansing.
2015 – Michael Craig, a special education teacher at the Charles Drew Transition Center in Detroit.
Excellence In Education award nominees should demonstrate the following qualities:
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.
Acting Lottery Commissioner, Jessica Weare (left), presents Angela Antico and her husband, Paul, with a check for her $100,000 Club Keno prize.
A Macomb County woman says winning a $100,000 Club Keno prize from the Michigan Lottery won’t sink in until the money in in the bank.
Angela Antico, 44, won $10,000 when her Club Keno numbers – 03-10-11-13-16-69-76-77 – matched eight of the 20 Club Keno numbers drawn in draw 2229315 on July 29. Thanks to The KICKER, the prize was multiplied to $100,000. She bought her winning ticket at Amore’s, located at 53100 Gratiot in Chesterfield. Chesterfield is about 30 miles north of Detroit.
“We were on our way home from work and stopped at Amore’s for lunch,” said Antico. “We only eat at places that have Club Keno because it’s fun to watch the drawings while we wait for our food, Amore’s is one of our favorite places.
“We watched the drawing, and it was hard to believe what we were seeing. We started yelling and soon everyone in the place knew we’d won. We cashed out and took the ticket home and scanned it with the Lottery app. Seeing the confetti on the screen and the $100,000 prize amount was amazing!”
Winning ticket.
Antico and her husband, Paul, recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize. With her winnings she plans to pay bills and make some home improvements.
“Winning still hasn’t sunk in yet and probably won’t until I’ve got the money in the bank,” Antico said.
Club Keno gives players 37 different ways to play and win. Players select up to 10 numbers to match from one to 80, with prize amounts determined based on the amount the player wagered. Club Keno may be played at Lottery retailers across the state. Drawings are every three and a half minutes. Results and live drawings may be found online at MichiganLottery.com.
In 2022, Lottery players won more than $407 million playing Club Keno, The KICKER, The Extra, and The Jack.
Seeing a $2 million pending Mega Millions prize in her online Michigan Lottery account had a Saginaw County woman thinking: “That’s not right.”
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