Lottery player scratches ‘itch’ to play Mega Millions — and wins big in Michigan
A Michigan woman, who said she had an “itch” to play the Mega Millions game, won a huge prize, lottery officials said.
Pamela Dietrich, of GeneseeCounty, won a $1 million prize in the April 11 drawing — just missing the $72 million jackpot — after matching five white balls, the Michigan Lottery said in an April 24 news release. She did not match the gold Mega ball.
A multiplier brought her grand prize total to $3 million, lottery officials said.
Dietrich said she was in disbelief after winning big from the ticket she purchased online, according to the lottery.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this!” she told lottery officials.
The lucky winner said she plans to use the money to remodel her home and pay off her car, then save the rest, lottery officials said.
The winning numbers in the drawing were 15, 37, 38, 56 and 58, according to the lottery.
No one won the jackpot in that drawing, according to the Mega Millions’ national web page. The estimated jackpot as of April 25 is $60 million.
Genesee County is about a 75-mile drive northwest from Detroit.
What to know about Mega Millions
To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 290,472,336.
Tickets cost $5 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.
Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.