Choosing his own numbers for the first time paid off for a Jackson man who won a $150,000 Powerball prize from the Michigan Lottery.
Eric Graf, 23, matched the four white balls and the Powerball – 28-45-53-56-69 PB:20 – in the Nov. 5 drawing to win a $50,000 prize. Thanks to the Power Play, the prize was multiplied to $150,000. He bought his winning ticket online at MichiganLottery.com.
Recommended Videos
“I play Powerball about once a month and I’ve always played easy pick numbers but decided to pick my own numbers for the first time,” said Graf. “I logged into my Lottery account a few hours after the drawing and couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I saw a $150,000 balance.
“I woke my fiancé up to tell her the good news, but she didn’t believe me. It took about a day for it to set in that I had really won. It is a crazy feeling!”
Graf recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to purchase a home and take a vacation.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on Nov. 8. One ticket bought in California won the world record $2.04 billion jackpot. The current jackpot stands at $76 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.
Michigan Lottery: Woman wins $4M ticket purchased from Grand Blanc gas station