Michigan Lottery Winners
The Michigan Lottery has been creating winners since 1972. Thousands of prizes are won every day across the Great Lakes State's wide variety of lotteries, but the largest payouts have been awarded in multi-state games Powerball and Mega Millions. Find out about Michigan's biggest lottery wins.
Top 10 Winners
Here's a rundown of the 10 biggest winners in Michigan Lottery history. Find out the amounts that were paid out, which lottery it was and more about the winners.
January 22, 2021 - The Wolverine FFL Club said they bought their ticket after seeing a sign for the $1 billion jackpot. They did not reveal much information about what they would do with the money, but said it would help their families for generations to come. They also vowed to donate money to charitable projects in southeast Michigan.
January 1, 2024 - Michigan’s biggest Powerball payout came on New Year’s Day 2024, when a three-member lottery club from the state bought a ticket from the Food Castle in Grand Blanc and matched all the numbers. The cash value of the jackpot was $425.2 million, after it had rolled for 34 consecutive drawings. ‘The Breakfast Club’ went for the cash lump payment and received $305 million after taxes.
August 15, 2012 - This stood as Michigan's top payout for more than eight years. Donald Lawson, from Lapeer, decided to pick his own numbers at a Sunoco gas station because there was a long line to get served. He took the cash sum of $224 million and instantly quit his job as a railroad engineer.
September 30, 2015 - Julie Leach from Three Rivers was checking her tickets during a break from a 'really bad night at work' when she discovered she was a winner. Just like previous record holder Lawson, she decided to retire from work right away. Leach received a lump sum worth $197 million.
April 22, 2005 - Ralph and Mary Stebbins of Port Huron bought their winning ticket from the local River District Supermarket and found out they had won at 7am the next day. Among the items on their wish list, Mary said she wanted to buy a 'show cow', while Ralph wanted a garage to house a 1963 Corvette.
May 9, 2000 - Back when Mega Millions was still known as The Big Game, Larry Ross of Shelby Township won half a $363 million jackpot. He had purchased his ticket on a lunch break at work, using a $100 bill to buy a hot dog and spending the rest on 98 lottery tickets.
April 1, 2008 - David Sneath, of Livonia, won this jackpot on his 60th birthday, leaving friends and relatives to think he was telling an April Fool's joke. He claimed the prize just two days later and said he had already walked away from his job in a warehouse.
November 6, 2010 - Mike Greer's 'Team Victory' group split this nine-figure Powerball jackpot with a ticket bought at an adult bookstore in the Detroit area. He said that his group had more than two members and fewer than 100. They took the prize as a lump sum of $69.6 million.
September 21, 2019 - Phillip and Dawn Chippewa of Sutton Bay said they would spend their jackpot on helping the family, with seven children and 21 grandchildren. Phillip said he usually bought tickets when the jackpot became substantial, and almost decided to skip this drawing.
July 5, 2013 - Dick Zelasco of Troy did not realize he was a jackpot winner for several weeks, after initially stuffing his ticket back in his wallet after a self-scanner advised him to contact the Michigan Lottery. He still thought it was a joke when he eventually checked the numbers, before it was finally confirmed.
Record Mega Millions Win
On January 22, 2021, Michigan was the scene of one of the biggest lottery wins to have ever been seen anywhere in the world. The Mega Millions jackpot was worth $1.05 billion after more than four months without a winner, and one ticket in the whole of the U.S. matched all the numbers.
The lucky ticket was sold in Oakland County - at Kroger, located at 47650 Grand River Avenue in Novi. Almost two months passed before the jackpot was claimed by a lottery club known as the Wolverine FFL Club.
Consisting of four members, the winners chose to receive the cash option of $776 million rather than jackpot as an annuity. After taxes, it worked out as about $557 million. Kroger also received a $50,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket, which store owners handed over to the Food Bank Council of Michigan.
Lucky for Life Winners
Michigan Lottery players have also enjoyed considerable success in Lucky for Life. Roderick Slaughter, of Detroit, matched all the numbers on February 11 2021 to win $1,000 a day for the rest of his life. He said that he planned to retire early, invest, travel the world, and set up a legacy fund for his grandchildren's education.
Biggest Lotto 47 Winner
Lotto 47 has given away numerous jackpots worth more than $10 million. The biggest of the lot was a prize of $32.2 million, which was split between two ticket holders on November 7 2020. One of the entries was sold in Ferndale, while the other was sold in Lake Odessa. Both winners received more than $16 million and opted to stay anonymous.
Biggest Fantasy 5 Winner
A man from Oakland County became the biggest winner in Michigan Fantasy 5 history when he landed $924,000 on January 17th 2020. The jackpot always starts at $100,000 and increases with each daily drawing until it is won.