We’ve all wondered what we would do if we won a life-changing amount of money. Some frantically call friends and family to give the good news. Others prefer a more measured approach. However, one woman won a cool $1 million, and her reaction even startled her daughter.
Michigan Lottery Connect shared the story in a press release on June 23. They explain that a woman from Montcalm County won $1 million on an Electric 100’s scratchcard. She then “screamed for 30 minutes straight.”
The woman told the outlet that she was on the phone with her daughter at the time. She explained, “When I scratched off the lightbulb symbol with ‘$1MIL’ next to it, I started screaming.” Her daughter reportedly believed something was wrong because her mother kept yelling, “No way!.”
When the 57-year-old winner finally calmed down, she told her daughter what had happened. She admits that neither of them initially believed it until she scanned the ticket on the app. “I think I screamed for 30 minutes straight! I’m still in awe, and I can’t believe I’m actually here claiming $1 million,” she said.
The Woman Shared How She Plans To Spend Her Winnings
The outlet clarifies that the woman chose to collect her winnings as a lump sum. This decision reduced her winnings to roughly $693K. She would have had to take the winnings in ‘annuity payments’ for the full amount. Regardless, the woman plans to spend her winnings on a house and her family. She also told the Lottery she wants to invest.
The California State Lottery made headlines this month after they revealed what happens if winnings are never claimed. They explain that somebody bought a winning Powerball ticket in December last year. It was worth over $1 million, but they also pointed out that winning tickets expire in 180 days. That timeframe means the winning ticket had to be claimed by June 16, which reportedly did not happen.
The lottery had no way of identifying the winner and explained that they would donate the money to public schools. The press release also says that over $1 billion in unclaimed prizes has been shared the same way since the lottery started in 1985.