A Washtenaw County woman is getting ready for a Florida vacation after scoring a major win in the Michigan Lottery’s Poker Lotto game. What started as a casual stop turned into a life-changing surprise worth $100,000.
The 56-year-old player, who chose to stay anonymous, picked up her winning ticket on a whim at Early Times Liquor Store on East Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti.
She recently claimed her prize from the May 16 drawing, and says she doesn’t usually play Poker Lotto—but that day she just felt like trying her luck.
A simple stop turned into a big win
- Bought the ticket “just because” while at the store
- Thought she might not have won anything at first
- Handed the ticket to her son to double-check
That’s when everything changed.
“When he told me I’d won $100,000, we both started yelling and jumping up and down!” she said in a Michigan Lottery press release.
The winning moment came when she matched all five cards — 10 of clubs, king of hearts, ace of hearts, ace of diamonds, and king of diamonds — in the drawing.
Big plans after the win
Now that the excitement is settling in, she’s already thinking about what’s next. A beach getaway is at the top of the list.
“I don’t think it’s going to fully sink in until I’m sitting on the beach in Florida in a few days,” she said during her visit to Lottery headquarters in Lansing. “I’m buying my plane ticket as soon as I leave here!”
She also plans to:
- Take a Florida vacation ✈️
- Help out her family
- Pay off some bills
Poker Lotto tickets cost just $2 and offer instant prizes from $2 up to $500, plus nightly drawings where players can win up to $100,000. The odds of hitting the top prize are about 1 in 2.6 million — making this win especially sweet.
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