News writer
The window to claim a $1 million Mega Millions prize is about to close for one lucky person in Michigan.
The winning ticket was from the March 17, 2023, drawing, and it was sold at the CVS Pharmacy, located at 18130 West 10 Mile Road in Southfield. The five white balls for that drawing were 26, 28, 29, 39, and 49, and the winning ticket matched all five numbers.
Mega Millions tickets are valid for one year from the date of the drawing. Since March 17, 2024, is a Sunday, the Michigan Lottery announced the prize must be claimed by 4:45 p.m. ET on March 15.
If you happen to be holding onto that winning ticket, you need to contact the Lottery's Player Relations division at 844-917-6325 to schedule an appointment to collect the big prize. The $1 million prize has to be claimed at the Lottery's headquarters in Lansing.
If no one claims the prize before the ticket expires, the money will be added to the state's School Aid Fund.
Mega Millions — how does it work?
Mega Millions is a huge U.S. lottery game with jackpots that often climb to hundreds of millions of dollars. Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Players pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and a Mega Ball number from 1 to 25, or you can choose to select Quick Pick, which generates random numbers to use in the draw so that you don't have to pick any on your own. You can also add the Megaplier option, which gives you a chance to multiply any non-jackpot winnings.
The Mega Millions drawings take place each Tuesday and Friday evening. Each Mega Millions play costs $2. To add the Megaplier option, which can multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to five times, players can pay an additional $1 per play.
The Michigan Lottery gives back
Do you ever wonder what happens to the profits made from the sale of Michigan Lottery tickets? Since 1972, all the profits from the Michigan Lottery — more than $28 billion — have gone to the School Aid Fund. The primary mission of the Michigan Lottery is to support the education of Michigan's children.
With the School Aid Fund, the Michigan Lottery provided more than $1.3 billion for public education in fiscal year 2023. This worked out to be a contribution of over $3.5 million each day for schools.
For the 2022-2023 school year, Michigan K-12 public schools served more than 1.4 million children. The School Aid Fund provided by Michigan Lottery in FY23 was over $920 per k-12 student.
Retailers also benefit from the Michigan Lottery
Sales from the Michigan Lottery also help lottery retailers. In fiscal year 2023, there were about 10,500 Michigan Lottery retailers that earned more than $350 million in commissions. Almost 600 retailers sold more than $1 million in Lottery products in 2023.
Enjoy playing the Michigan Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
