Macomb County Man Wins $500,000 Playing the Michigan Lottery’s Peppermint Payout Millions Instant Game

Posted on November 10, 2021 by MI_Lottery

“This isn’t real” is all a Macomb County man could say after winning $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Peppermint Payout Millions instant game.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought his winning ticket at the HP Liquor, located at 14301 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park.

“I like playing games after they just come out,” said the 57-year-old player. “When I scratched the ticket and saw I had won $500,000, all I could say was: ‘This isn’t real.’

“I had to take the ticket to my friend who scanned it with his phone on the Lottery app, and that’s when it hit me that it was very real!”

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

Peppermint Payout Millions is one of four holiday-themed games that launched last month. This season’s instant games are:

  • Candy Cane Cash – $1 ticket with 400 top prizes of $500 and more than $5.5 million in total cash prizes.
  • Season’s Joy – $2 ticket with top prizes of $30,000 and more than $9.5 million in total cash prizes.
  • Holiday Magic – $5 ticket with top prizes of $300,000 and more than $18 million in total prizes.
  • Peppermint Payout Millions – $10 ticket with top prizes of $500,000 and more than $27 million in total prizes.

Players have won more than $4 million playing Peppermint Payout Millions, which launched in October. Each $10 ticket offered players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $500,000. More than $26 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes and 14 $2,000 prizes.

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

In 2020, Lottery players won more than $1.5 billion playing instant games.

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

Posted on November 9, 2021 by MI_Lottery

A Wayne County educator known for creating an engaging environment for students has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Chris Kozaczynski, is a second grade gifted and talented teacher at Walker-Winter Elementary. Walker-Winter Elementary is part of the Wayne-Westland Community School District.

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 plaque, a $1,500 cash prize, and a $500 grant to their classroom, school, or school district. One of the weekly winners will be selected as the Educator of the Year 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, and WNEM-TV in Saginaw. The news segment featuring Kozaczynski will air this evening.

Kozaczynski said a senior service project drew him to a career as an educator.

“I wasn’t the person that knew from a very young age that I would grow up to be a teacher. A senior service project in high school allowed me to work with young children at a daycare for a parent/tot cooking class. I loved the experience and continued my work with children at summer camps and daycare while in college. I realized then that I really enjoyed working with children, was patient and understanding when explaining things to them, and most of all, found it to be incredibly rewarding.”

Kozaczynski said integrating play with learning is one of his favorite activities to share with his students.

“There are so many games we play. The favorites change from year to year with each group of students, but I do notice an overall trend with my second graders: they want the teacher to play the games with them all the time. We love to play games at our math centers and beating the teacher at a strategy game guarantees bragging rights for at least the next week. I try my best, but they are just faster than I am.

“Playing online learning games together and allowing students to teach me how to get better so I don’t keep losing to them is fun for both of us since they sincerely want me to improve. They have the chance to be the expert and guide me.”

The parent of a former student nominated Kozaczynski for the award. The nomination cited his creativity and the ways he engages his students.

“Mr. Kozaczynski uses technology and creativity to engage his students. Students contact all seven continents via Skype. He sends a student-made flag to Antarctica that scientists fly with penguins. Students even contacted a space station via Skype. He teaches the curriculum and way beyond. He hand-makes chocolate dinosaur fossils during their weeks on the prehistoric Era. Students create an entire village to learn about taxes, community issues, pros and cons of industrial buildings, and what sort of shops/services are needed. Every student has that one teacher they will remember for their whole life, for anyone in Westland’s talented and gifted program, it is Mr. Chris.”

Kozaczynski earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Marygrove College. He has been an educator for 24 years, the last nine in his current position.

Outstanding public-school educators may be nominated for an Excellence in Education award at http://bit.ly/ExcellenceInEducation or through the websites of the Lottery’s media partner stations.

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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Michigan Lottery Offices Closed in Observance of Veterans Day

Posted on November 8, 2021 by MI_Lottery

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 Thursday, November 11.

All regularly scheduled drawings will take place on Thursday.

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

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

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Washtenaw County Woman Wins $1 Million Playing the Michigan Lottery’s Cash Game Instant Game

Posted on November 5, 2021 by MI_Lottery

A Washtenaw County woman felt “scared, freaked out, and sick” after winning $1 million playing the Michigan Lottery’s Cash Game instant game.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought her winning ticket at the 7-Eleven, located at 39390 Ecorse Road in Romulus.

“I have a few stores I like to buy tickets at, and the 7-Eleven is one of them,” said the 50-year-old player. “I have been playing the Cash Game because I’ve been getting quite a few winners. I won $30 and decided to buy three more tickets. I didn’t win on two of them but hit $1 million on this one!

“As soon as I saw the star symbol and the ‘1MIL’ prize, I felt freaked out, scared, and sick instantly. It was such an overwhelming feeling to win!”

The player visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize. She chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum of about $634,000 rather than annuity payments totaling $1 million. With her winnings, she plans to buy a brand-new car for the first time ever, share with family, and then save the remainder.

“This is an incredible blessing. I’ve had some health issues, and things have been tough, but this means I won’t feel any more financial burdens for a long time,” said the player.

Players have won more than $26 million playing Cash Game, which launched in July. Each $10 ticket offered players a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 up to $1 million. More than $23 million in prizes remain, including one $1 million top prizes, 22 $10,000 prizes, and 97 $2,000 prizes.

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

In 2020, Lottery players won more than $1.5 billion playing instant games.

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Jackson County Woman Wins $500,000 Playing the Michigan Lottery’s Gold Premium Play Instant Game

Posted on November 4, 2021 by MI_Lottery

A Jackson County woman nearly passed out after winning $500,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Gold Premium Play instant game.

The lucky player, who chose to remain anonymous, bought her winning ticket at the 7-Eleven, located at 2900 Airport Road in Jackson.

“I’d been having some luck playing the Gold Premium Play game, so I decided to buy a couple more,” said the 25-year-old player. “When I scratched the ticket off, I was certain I wasn’t reading it right.

“I took the ticket to a retailer and had it scanned. When they handed me, the slip saying to come to the Lottery, I almost passed out!”

The player visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to pay bills, buy a new home, and then invest the remainder.

“Winning is so exciting. It’s incredible to know I can use this money to set myself and my family up for a while,” the player said.

Players have won more than $4 million playing Gold Premium Play, which launched in September. Each $5 ticket offered players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $500,000. More than $25 million in prizes remain, including two $500,000 top prizes, 11 $10,000 prizes, and 180 $1,000 prizes.

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

In 2020, Lottery players won more than $1.5 billion playing instant games.

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