A Battle Creek man assumed he’d won $1,000 but then realized he’d actually won a $100,000 Powerball prize from the Michigan Lottery. Jack Rider matched four white balls plus the Powerball in the May 13 drawing to win $50,000, but because he purchased the Power Play for an extra $1, his prize was doubled to $100,000. The lucky player purchased his ticket online at MichiganLottery.com.
The 64-year-old player says he’s been playing Powerball and Mega Millions for years and usually buys his tickets online. He logged into his account a few days after the drawing and had a notification telling him a $100,000 prize was pending. At first, Rider thought he’d won $1,000 because he believed there was no way he could have won $100,000.
However, he finally realized that he had won $100,000. He then handed his phone to his wife to show her what they had won. Even then, it still didn’t feel real. Rider recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his big prize and says he plans on completing home improvements and sharing the money with his family.
The last time a player won the Powerball jackpot was on April 19, when one player in Ohio won $252.6 million. The last Michigan player to win the Powerball jackpot was Cristy Davis of Waterford, who won a $70 million jackpot on February 12, 2020. The jackpot for Wednesday night’s drawing is estimated at $750 million, with a cash option of $378.8 million if there’s a winner.
Powerball tickets are available for purchase for $2 per play at Lottery retailers across Michigan and online at MichiganLottery.com. For an extra $1, players can add the Power Play option to their Powerball ticket, which multiplies non-jackpot prizes up to ten times to a maximum of $2 million. Players can also add the Double Play option for $1, giving them a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.
Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm. Drawings can be watched live online at Powerball.com. Powerball is available in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
