Many Michigan Lottery players might give up after a year of playing the same numbers in the same game. That isn’t the case with one Oakland County, MI woman, who finally hit it big with her lucky numbers last month.
All six of her numbers matched the Aug. 18 Lotto 47 drawing, netting her the progressive jackpot of $1.2 million (before taxes). The win also pushes MI closer to what could be a record year for big prizes.
Who is the Lotto 47 jackpot winner?
According to a news release from the MI Lottery, the woman is 51 and chose to remain anonymous. Her numbers, 05-06-11-36-40-47, matched those in the drawing on Aug. 18. She explained how being a Lotto 47 jackpot winner has been a long time coming for her.
“I have played Lotto 47 online for about a year,” the player said. “I always play the same numbers, and I always play them online.
When I checked the results, I saw someone had won but didn’t even think it could have been me. When I looked a little closer, the numbers seemed familiar. When I verified in my account that I was the winner, I was shocked.
I’m still shocked.”
The Lottery says when she visited a claim center, she opted for a lump sum payment of about $734,000. Her plans include investing, sharing the wealth with her family, and vacationing.
The fact that it took her a year playing the same numbers to hit the big prize jives with the game’s overall demeanor. This is just the second time in the game’s history that a player has matched all six numbers playing online. The first time was in December 2020.
Thus, it might be a while before someone else replicates her results in this game. However, the entire menu of MI Lottery games has delivered seven-figure prizes at a furious pace so far this year.
Could 2021 be a record year for MI Lottery millionaires?
In 2019, 57 MI Lottery players won pre-tax prizes of $1 million or more. So far this year, the unofficial count sits at 41. Projecting that forward, it’s possible for 2021 to narrowly beat that record set in 2019.
Sales will play a significant role in whether 2021 becomes the new standard. That’s just as much about the variety as it is how many tickets retailers sell. Sales in this regard have different effects on different games.
For instant win games, usually featuring scratch-off cards, there is a set number of prizes of $1 million or more. For that reason, every time a player claims one, there are fewer left out in the wild. So, although more sales technically mean those prizes should be found more quickly, those instances of snapping those prizes up might eventually act as a deterrent to players chasing those big hits.
For draw-style games, that isn’t a concern. With Lotto 47, Mega Millions and Powerball, for example, the starting jackpots are at or well over $1 million. The latter two games in that list offer a million dollars as a normal prize, too.
Although it’s true that you can’t win if you don’t play, it’s important to note that the odds of winning a seven-figure prize in any of these games are quite long. You’re still much more likely to lose the money you spend on lottery tickets than become the next MI Lottery millionaire.
