Michigan Lottery sets record for largest online jackpot to date

Detroit Free Press
 
Michigan Lottery sets record for largest online jackpot to date
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Father knows best. For one Wayne County man, listening to his dad’s advice paid off big time.

He won $7.19 million from the Lotto 47 jackpot, the largest prize ever on MichiganLottery.com, according to the Michigan Lottery.

The 38-year-old player, who wishes to remain anonymous, matched the winning Lotto 47 numbers on May 22: 22-24-26-40-41-44. He bought his winning ticket online.

“I have been playing Lotto 47 for a long time, and would always switch up my numbers,” the player told the Michigan Lottery. “One day, my dad told me I should pick a set of numbers and stick with them, so that’s what I did.

“I saw an email from the Lottery saying I’d won a prize, so I logged into my Lottery account, and that’s when I saw $7.19 million pending. I was in total shock and instantly thought how my dad had been right!”

The player chose to get his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $4.9 million and plans to invest the money, plus put some into his children's college funds.

“Winning feels surreal. It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m a millionaire!” he said.

“This record-setting Lotto 47 jackpot win comes with an incredible story,” said Michigan Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli in a news release. “It’s not just the college funds of the winner’s children that will benefit from Lottery dollars. All of Michigan Lottery’s proceeds go to support public education programs in Michigan, and we are on track for a sixth consecutive contribution of more than $1 billion.”

The previous record for the largest prize won on MichiganLottery.com was $5.75 million. That record-setting prize was won in back-to-back months in February and March 2021 by two Lucky For Life players.