GRAND BLANC, MI -- The largest Powerball prize ever won in Michigan was finally claimed Tuesday by “The Breakfast Club” lottery club. The $842.4 million jackpot was won in the Jan. 1 drawing and more than five months later a representative for the group came forward to accept the prize.
“As you can imagine, the club members have felt so many emotions since realizing their ticket was “the one,” said Mark K. Harder, a partner with Warner Norcross+Judd LLP in Holland who is also representing the lottery club. 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.”
Harder spoke on behalf of the other two members of the club during a press conference Tuesday at the Food Castle of Grand Blanc, the retailer that sold the winning ticket. Michigan law requires grand prize winners of multi state lotteries to be named publicly, however if the prize is claimed by a lottery club, only one person has to be publicly named as part of the club.
The winners matched all five white numbers drawn and the red Powerball -- 12-21-42-44-49, PB: 01 -- to win the grand prize. The $842.4 million jackpot is the second largest lottery prize ever won in Michigan, trailing only the $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in 2021 by another lottery club.
The Breakfast Club elected to receive the money as a lump-sum payment of about $425 million rather than the annuity for the full $842.4 million.
“After income tax withholdings of 24% federal tax (about $102 million) and 4.25% state tax (about $18 million), the club received about $305 million,” the Michigan Lottery said in a statement.
Lottery Commissioner, Suzanna Shkreli called the win “a beautiful moment” for the club winners and said seeing a big winner here in Michigan provides a boost for the Michigan Lottery.
“It’s important for people to see that these are real winners, these are real people, that have real lives and this is a real retailer who is now making the decision to benefit his community with the money he received, Shkreli said.
Harder described the other two members as “middle aged” and that they are “Mid-Michigan residents” who play the lottery when the jackpot gets large. He went on to say the winners are not regulars at Food Castle, but have visited the store numerous times. During Tuesday’s event, Harder released a statement of behalf of the winners, who were not in attendance.
“This prize will positively affect our family for generations to come. 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,” read a portion of the statement.
While he declined to provide too much information about the winners, Harder did offer some insight into how the winners have handled the entire situation,including how they reacted to the realization that they won the jackpot.
“They were stunned. In fact, the morning after the drawing he heard through the news that the winning ticket had been sold here. He looked up the ticket numbers on his phone and he was so stunned he dropped his phone,” Harder said.
The winners were deliberate in coming forward to claim the prize in order to have a team in place to help them execute their plans for the money, Harder said.
“They’ve taken their time to try and process how this is going to affect them, and their lives and their family,” Harder said. “They view this as a generational event that will benefit many generations of their family to come.”
Harder said the winners plan to stay in Michigan, but are also interested in buying a home in Florida.They also plan to use the money to pay off debt, help their immediate family and travel more. The winners are also working with their advisors to determine the various charities and organizations that will receive donations.
For now, the winners are enjoying their win and the financial freedom that comes with it
“We’re definitely sleeping better these days and are looking forward to what this surprising new chapter will hold for us and our family,” the winner’s statement read.
For the latest on Michigan Lottery, check out the official Michigan Lottery site, which also offers more information on instant tickets, raffles and other lottery games.
And while they were lucky winners, it’s smart for players to check their tickets immediately as a Mega Millions winner worth $1 million sold in Southfield in 2023 went unclaimed. The money instead went to the state’s School Aid Fund.
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