NOVI, Mich. – It was an interesting weekend for the staff at Novi Woods Elementary School.
The phones of staff members blew up and they were getting emails and messages from several people. Some of the calls were from people they have not spoken with in decades.
Everyone had the same question about whether they had won $1 billion.
A winning ticket of the $1 billion Mega Millions lottery was sold at Kroger in Novi recently. It is the third-largest lottery prize in US history.
The Kroger store is located at 47650 Grand River Avenue in Novi, just five minutes away from the elementary school.
Rumors quickly started circulating that a group of teachers in the Novi Community School District won the prize.
Details: Lottery player who purchased ticket at Kroger in Novi wins $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot
“There was so much buzz that I was getting asked things like are we even going to have school on Monday,” said David Ascher, principal of Novi Woods Elementary School.
To address the circulating rumors Ascher penned a blog post titled, “I won the lottery.”
As of Monday afternoon the blog post had more than 8,000 views.
“It’s true. It’s me. I won the lottery. No ... not that lottery. I won the real lottery. In fact, I’ve won multiple times,” the blog reads in part.
In the blog post Ascher says he “won the lottery” through family and friends.
“Our daughters are supper special,” he said. “The family and friends we have really make me super, super rich.”
He stated that one of the top reasons he’s “won the lottery” is his wife who is the “best thing that has ever happened” to him.
Despite the whirlwind weekend of rumors it was back to business on the first day of a new semester.
More: $1 billion Mega Millions winning ticket sold at Novi Kroger
“Everyone showed up for work today which was really good... I bought them all donuts today which seemed to help too,” he said.
Donuts might not stack up to a $1 billion, but Ascher says the rumors were a welcome distraction.
“We’ve had people who got contacted from different countries. People got contacted from different states. It has just been remarkable. When it happens with so many different people you think, could it really be that teacher or a group of teachers that I know and then your mind starts going down those rabbit, rabbit holes,” he added.
“People are kind of like, are you sure it’s not you? Are you sure it’s not that person, and everyone starts playing the what if games like what would I do if I had a billion dollars. And that’s been fun to share.”