OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – An Oakland County man’s family thought he was playing a joke on them when he told them he won the Lotto 47 jackpot on April Fools’ Day.
But he wasn’t joking. The 60-year-old man won the $4.38 million Lotto 47 jackpot on April 1, 2023. The winning numbers were 04-08-17-19-24-45.
“I love playing Lotto 47 and I usually play every drawing,” he said. “I scanned my ticket at the store after the drawing and got a message to file a claim at the Lottery office. When the worker told me I must have won big, I said ‘Yeah right!’”
The player purchased his ticket at Lathrup Village Convenience. He chose to remain anonymous.
“I checked the winning numbers when I got in my car and couldn’t believe it when I saw I had won the jackpot. I called my family to tell them the good news and they thought I was playing an April Fools’ joke on them. It took some convincing before they finally believed that I’d won,” he said.
The player recently visited Michigan Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. He chose the one-time lump sum payment of about $3.04 million instead of annuity payments. He plans to save his winnings.
“Winning still doesn’t feel real and I don’t think it will for a while,” he said. “Once it sinks in, I will start making some plans for the money, but as of now I plan to save most of it.”
How to play Lotto 47
Each Lotto 47 play costs $1.
Players choose six numbers from one to 47 for a chance to win a jackpot starting at $1 million. The prize grows until someone wins.
For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Lotto 47 ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $1.5 million in the nightly Double Play drawing. For an additional $1 per game, players may add EZMatch to their ticket for a chance to win up to $500 instantly.
Lotto 47 drawings take place on Wednesday and Saturday at 7:29 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at a retailer or online at MichiganLottery.com until 7:08 p.m. on the day of the drawing.
If you believe you have a gambling problem, you can call 800-270-7117 or text 248-648-3363 for confidential support.