A guy who asks his wife every day “Do I have to go to work today?” may be getting the surprise of his life when he comes home from the job today. That’s because a Berrien County woman who hit the jackpot in the Michigan Lottery plans to give him that big surprise after winning the Lottery’s Double Bonus Cashword game.
The unidentified woman, who elected to remain anonymous as is her right under lottery rules, says, “I stopped Monday morning and bought a few tickets while I was out running errands.” She adds, “All of the tickets I bought were small winners, so I stopped again at the Midtown Liquor Store in Bridgman to cash the tickets in and that’s where I got the lucky Cashword ticket.”
The lucky winner went on to say, “I scratched the ticket off when I got home and even after revealing six words, I didn’t realize it was a $300,000 winner. When I looked at the prize legend, I was flabbergasted.”
The 61-year-old player remained tight-lipped about her big win, not even sharing the news with her husband.
Lottery officials say she told them, “My husband works very hard and every day he asks me: ‘Do I have to go to work today?’” Well, she says, “I’m going to surprise him when he gets home today and tell him he’ll be able to retire sooner now that I’ve won this big prize.”
The lucky player visited Lottery headquarters today to claim her big prize. In addition to helping her husband retire earlier than planned, she also plans to buy a new vehicle.
The woman tells us, “I’ve been playing the Lottery since it started and I always felt like I was going to win. It just took me a long time to do it.”
Players have won more than $20 million playing Double Bonus Cashword, which launched in October 2016. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $300,000. More than $6 million in prizes remain, including four $1,000 prizes, and 12 $2,000 prizes.
Lottery instant games may be purchased at 11,000 retailers across the state.
In 2016, Lottery players won nearly $817 million playing instant games.
About 97-cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets benefits the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers and vendors. In 2016, the Lottery provided a record $888.9 million to help support Michigan’s public schools. Since it began in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $20.5 billion to support public education. For additional information, follow the Michigan Lottery on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and online at www.michiganlottery.com.
