No Powerball Jackpot, But Detroit Woman Gladly Takes $1 Million Prize

By now, you’ve discovered that neither you nor any other Michigander was the winner of the recent Powerball jackpot of nearly $700 million.

But one Detroit woman came darn close about a month ago. And she is ready to make a better life for her family after winning $1 million from the Michigan Lottery, the organization announced Wednesday.

LaSharda Morrison, 43, matched the five white balls — 12-22-26-46-59 — in the Aug. 28 Powerball drawing to win $1 million, not quite the jackpot prize. She bought her winning ticket at the Six Mile X-Press Party Store, located at 19410 West McNichols Road in Detroit.

Millionaire had near-Powerball jackpot ticket for weeks

“I buy a Powerball ticket every now and then if I’m feeling lucky, or if the jackpot is creeping up,” Morrison said in a lottery news release. “I walked around with this ticket for a couple weeks after the drawing before I even checked it.

“When I checked it at the store, I thought something was off. I pulled the numbers up on my phone, and I was stunned.”

Morrison visited lottery headquarters in Lansing to claim her prize. With her winnings, she plans to purchase a new home, take her family on a camping trip and then save the rest.

“You always want to do better for your kids. With this money, I know I can help them have a better life and set them up for years to come,” Morrison told the lottery.

As usual, we’ll remind folks that it’s often a good idea to plan to invest the majority of your lottery winnings. You can collect interest and also limit your Michigan tax liability. That’s also why we suggest finding an attorney or financial adviser upon your big score.

Race to record Michigan Lottery millionaires is close

The march to a record number of Michigan Lottery millionaires continues with this brush with the Powerball jackpot. (And there was also another $2 million Powerball prize reported from the Sept. 28 drawing. No more official details on that one yet, though.)

The Michigan Lottery is reporting 44 million-dollar-or-more prize winners so far in 2021. The all-time record is 57, back in 2019. If you’re an #onpace guy or gal, as of Oct. 7, we are 76.7% of the way through the year. Having 44 millionaires is 77.2% of the way to 57.

Get your seven-figure popcorn ready.