Michigan – A Sterling Heights Lottery club got the surprise of a lifetime when they found out the Powerball ticket they’d forgotten about was worth $1 million.
TAJ Funds Lottery club matched the five white balls – 16-25-27-49-55– in the Feb. 14 Powerball drawing to win a $1 million prize. They bought the winning ticket at the Meijer store, located at 36600 Van Dyke Avenue in Sterling Heights.
“We have played the Lottery together for several years and have always said that if we win big, we will split the prize,” said the club’s representative, John Kurz. “We both purchase tickets and then check them whenever we get together for lunch."
“I purchased a Powerball ticket and put it in my purse to check it the next time we got together,” said club member, Tammi Lenhausen. “I completely forgot about the ticket until a few weeks ago, so we went to the store together to check it.
“When we realized we had won $1 million, we didn’t believe it at first. We checked the unclaimed prizes page on the Lottery website, and that’s when we knew we had really won. It was unreal!”
Kurz, 54, and Lenhausen, 55, visited Lottery headquarters recently to claim their prize. With their winnings, each plans to save for retirement and help family.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on April 27. One ticket bought in Arizona won the $473.1 million jackpot. The current jackpot stands at $335 million.
Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of $2 million may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.
The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and may be watched live online at: http://www.powerball.com. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.