$1M Powerball Ticket Sold in Rochester Hills

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ROCHESTER HILLS, MI – A Powerball ticket sold at the Meijer store at 3175 S. Rochester Road in Rochester Hills was one of three worth $1 million sold in Michigan in the record $939.8 million jackpot drawing Saturday, the Michigan Lottery said Monday.

No one won the record prize, which now stands at $1.4 billion in Wednesday’s drawing, according to a press release from the Michigan Lottery. The cash option for Wednesday’s jackpot — the largest in the world — is $868 million.

The holders of the three $1 million winning tickets matched five numbers. The other two tickets were sold at Pilot Travel Center, 750 Baker Road in Dexter, and Speedway, 800 Washington Ave., in Holland.

Only one of the winners, Imari Shelton, 19, has stepped forward to claim the $1 million prize. She bought her ticket in Holland and called her windfall beginner’s luck. She bought five Easy Pick plays.

“When I saw the jackpot had climbed so high, I decided I should take a chance and play,” Shelton told the Michigan Lottery. “I wasn’t even sure how to play, so I had to ask my mom for help.”

When she awoke on Sunday, Shelton’s mother told her that someone had purchased a Powerball ticket at the Speedway in Holland worth $1 million.

“As soon as I heard that, I grabbed my ticket and started checking the numbers,” she said, according to a press release. “When I saw I matched five numbers, I started shaking.

“I asked my mom what it meant if I matched five numbers and she thought I was joking. After she looked at my ticket with me, we both started screaming.”

So, if you didn’t win the big prize, you may have won something. Here’s how Powerball works:

• Match 5 numbers and the Powerball number = Jackpot
• Match 5 numbers, not including the Powerball number = $1 million dollars
• Match 4 numbers and the Powerball number = $10,000
• Match 4 numbers, not including the Powerball number = $100
• Match 3 numbers and the Powerball number = $100
• Match 3 numbers, not including the Powerball number = $7
• Match 2 numbers and the Powerball number = $7
• Match 1 number and the Powerball number = $4
• Match only the Powerball number = $4

Shelton said the prize will help her realize a dream of going to law school and becoming a lawyer. Besides paying for student loans, she plans to tuck some of her windfall in a savings account and “Winning $1 million feels unreal and I don’t know how to describe it, but winning $1.3 billion would be mind-blowing,” Shelton said.

The former record Powerball jackpot was $590.5 million, won on May 18, 2013, by Gloria C. Mackenzie, of Zephyrhills, FL. Powerball ticket sales began April 19, 1992. Michigan began selling Powerball tickets on Jan. 31, 2010.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever claimed in Michigan was won on Aug. 15, 2012, by Donald Lawson, of Lapeer. Lawson won a $337 million Powerball jackpot that holds the record for the largest Lottery prize ever won in Michigan.

Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to five times may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. Find a vendor in your town here.

The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday nights, and may be watched live online. Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington DC, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Tell Us

• What would you do with the jackpot if you won? Tell us in the comments.