GRAND BLANC, Mich. — It was a lifechanging day for a trio in mid-Michigan. They were handed a check for $842.4 million from the Michigan lottery, the largest in state history.
The three-member lottery club, who call themselves "The Breakfast Club," matched all the numbers drawn on New Year's Day – 12-21-42-44-49 and the Powerball, 01.
Attorney Mark K. Harder represented the anonymous group at a press conference Tuesday. He said this was a first-time large jackpot for the other two members of the lottery club, who typically buy Powerball tickets when the jackpot gets to be hundreds of millions.
It wasn't until the day after the drawing that the group realized they'd won millions.
Harder says a club member saw on the news and social media that the winning ticket was sold at the Food Castle in Grand Blanc. He checked the numbers on his phone and realized he was holding the winner. He was so excited, he dropped his phone.
That day, he and his wife still went to work like normal.
“As you can imagine, the club members have felt so many emotions since realizing their ticket was ‘the one.’ They’ve been elated and overwhelmed, thrilled, and nervous. They’ve gone from shock and sleepless nights to giving careful thought as to how this once-in-a-lifetime event will transform their lives," said Harder.
Rather than annuit payments for the full amount, The Breakfast Club chose to receive their prize as one lump sum of $425 million. After the required income tax withholdings, 24% in federal and 4.25% in state, the club got about $305 million.
With the winnings, the group plans to retire earlier than expected, to travel and to share their fortune with their immediate family and nonprofits.
“This prize will positively affect our family for generations to come,” a club member said. “Up until now, we have led a comfortable life and anticipated retiring someday. Now, we’re not financially bound to a specific timetable. The world – and our opportunities – have opened up in some incredible ways. This has been life changing for us.”
Food Castle of Grand Blanc is also celebrating. The owners, the Nannoshi family, were present for the press conference Tuesday and got a big check of their own — a $50,000 commission bonus.
“Selling the winning Powerball ticket has been great for our business,” said owner Bill Nannoshi. “We are going to donate every penny of the $50,000 to our employees and community.”
This jackpot is the largest Powerball prize and the second largest lottery prize ever won in Michigan. A $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in January 2021 holds the record for the largest jackpot won in the state.
“Big jackpots are good news for Lottery retailers, like the Food Castle of Grand Blanc, which will receive a $50,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket, and for Michigan schools, which has received more than $1 billion in proceeds from the Lottery in each of the last five years," said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli.
The last Michigan player to win a Powerball jackpot was Cristy Davis of Waterford, who won the game’s $70 million jackpot in 2020.
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