An Ionia man had a morning he will never forget when he woke up and found out he was a millionaire after winning a $1 million Powerball prize from the Michigan Lottery.
Charles Wolthuis, 78, matched the five white balls in the Oct. 2 drawing to win the big prize: 12-26-27-43-47. He bought his winning ticket at Purk’s, located at 875 East Lincoln in Ionia.
“I usually play Powerball every drawing,” said Wolthuis. “I called the winning numbers hotline and wrote down the winning Powerball numbers right when I woke up the morning after the drawing. I checked my ticket and saw I’d matched five numbers, but I wasn’t sure what I’d won. I called my daughter and asked her to check and see what the prize is for matching five numbers. It was quiet for a minute, and then she said: ‘Dad, you won $1 million!’
“I woke up my wife and told her we won $1 million, but she thought I was kidding and went back to bed. When she woke up, she told me she had a dream that we won the Lottery. I said: ‘We did! That wasn’t a dream, we won $1 million!’”
Wolthuis recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay off his home and buy a new truck.