Free spin leads to $100K Powerball win for Houghton Lake woman

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LANSING, MI -- A Houghton Lake woman turned a simple free spin on the Michigan Lottery website into a $100,000 Powerball win recently.

Bonnie Zabel, 54, won her big prize after she matched four white balls and the Powerball for the drawing held on May 16 to bring home $50,000. She also played the Power Play option which increased her prize to $100,000.

The lucky win started after she visited her Michigan Lottery account for a daily ritual.

“I logged on to my account to do my Daily Spin to Win spin and won an online bonus, so I decided to use it towards the purchase of some Powerball tickets,” Zabel said. “The next morning, I had two emails from the Lottery. One was notifying me that I’d won a $4 prize, and the other was a prize notification I had never seen before.

“I logged on to my account and that’s when I saw my balance was $100,004. I woke my husband up right away to tell him the good news!”

The daily spin is a feature available to all players who have an online Michigan Lottery account. Once per day, players can spin the wheel -- for free -- for a chance to win credits which can be used to purchase tickets online, credits that can be used for purchases at lottery retailers or entries into a monthly cash giveaway.

Zabel says she plans on using the money to pay bills and will save the remainder.

For the latest on Michigan Lottery, check out the official Michigan Lottery site, which also offers more information on instant tickets, raffles and other lottery games.

The last players from Michigan to win a Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot is the Wolverine FLL lottery club which claimed a $1.05 billion jackpot in March 2021. With their winnings, the group plans to give back to the community.

And while they were lucky winners, it’s smart for players to check their tickets immediately as a winner worth $1 million sold in Warren last year went unclaimed. The money instead went to the state’s School Aid Fund.

If you’d like to be the next player from Michigan to win a huge lottery prize, take a look at these tips from lottery expert Richard Lustig. The author of “Learn How To Increase Your Chances Of Winning The Lottery” has won more than $1 million in Florida by winning top jackpot prizes in smaller games.